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    February 3, 2026

    GM Canada lays off ~500 workers at Ontario plant

    Written by Ethan Bernard

    General Motors Canada has laid off ~500 workers at its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario. The cuts followed the plant moving from three production shifts to two as of Monday, Feb. 2.

    Unifor, a Canadian union representing auto workers, said the move came in response to President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian auto parts, which went into effect last April. GM Canada made no mention of the tariffs or Trump in its statement.

    Ethan Bernard

    Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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