GM cancels shift at Oshawa, about 700 workers to be laid off, CAW says

TORONTO - General Motors Canada will temporarily lay off the third shift at its Oshawa car plant starting the first week of February, the Canadian Auto Workers said Thursday night.

The move will affect about 700 workers. It was not clear how long the layoffs will last. The line that builds Impalas is already scheduled to be down from next Monday until early January. CAW spokeswoman Shannon Devine said the workers were told of the shift cut earlier in the evening.

"The plant is down as of next week until Jan. 12 and everybody is back for a few weeks and as of the first week of February the third shift is down," she said.  "It's is indefinite but it is supposed to be temporary."

The cuts follow tens of thousands of layoffs in the auto sector in Canada and the U.S.  It also comes as auto executives appeal to governments in the U.S., Canada and Ontario for financial aid to stave off the threat of bankruptcy.

The neighbouring truck plant in Oshawa has already been slated to close, a move that will put 2,600 workers out of a job.