As GM prepares to close a longtime Canadian assembly plant, and retool it to build replacement parts, some of the factory's 2,300 workers set to lose their jobs will be offered incentives to retire, union officials say.

GM plans to invest C$170 million ($126 million U.S.) to support the transition of operations at its Oshawa assembly plant. GM also will convert part of the plant property into a test track for autonomous and advanced technology vehicles.

Some suppliers began diversifying a decade ago, right after GM’s bankruptcy. Product mixes help suppliers better withstand plant closures and consolidation by automakers.

Walkouts at key parts plants send a message that the union is serious about disrupting operations, said Jerry Dias, president of the Canadian union Unifor.

Fiat Chrysler this year will invest $262 million in its Windsor, Ontario, minivan assembly plant “for future product,” Unifor President Jerry Dias said.

FCA executives and union leaders will be discussing upcoming job cuts at the automaker's minivan plant in Canada. The union will demand FCA give the factory new product to save 1,500 jobs.

Making roads safer and easing congestion are among the benefits often cited by proponents of potentially revolutionary autonomous technology. But it’s always striking to hear how much auto executives’ views on self-driving vehicles differ from one another.

Ontario officials are confronting declining local auto industry fortunes with millions in business benefits.

Canada's Unifor is hopeful GM will accept the union's proposal to save some jobs at the company's Oshawa plant in Ontario. Unifor hasn't publicly released details of its proposal.

Fiat Chrysler is expected to begin retooling its Windsor minivan plant in Canada this summer to add an all-wheel drive powertrain to the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, according to a top union official.

Investments by the auto sector in autonomous technology are paying dividends for the once-struggling smartphone company.

Unifor President Jerry Dias has struck a defiant tone in the wake of the Ontario labor board’s ruling that the union engaged in unlawful strikes at GM's Oshawa assembly plant and its suppliers.

Canadian auto dealers want automakers to invest in technology, not bricks and mortar, but unlike dealerships in 22 U.S. states, they have little legal protection against automaker mandates.

Dino Chiodo, national auto director at Unifor, said the company is closely examining the viability of an awd version. In addition, two sources who didn’t want to be named have been told the move is in the works.