GM denies Oshawa Assembly losing light-duty truck production this fall

Will Oshawa Assembly take another hit and lose one more shift when the next generation Silverado production schedule kicks in this fall?

There are industry insiders who seem to think so, with Auto Forecast Solutions, a ‘business intelligence’ software company based out of suburban Philadelphia reporting that GM Canada’s assembly plant in Oshawa, which makes both light-duty and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado trucks (the only plant to do so), is going to lose light-duty production when the next-gen Silverado begins production later this year.

Losing that production could mean going down to one shift – a big blow to a workforce that just lost a shift and more than 500 workers at the beginning of the year.

The company has flat out denied the report, the union representing GM workers in Oshawa has not yet commented and Oshawa GM Redditt members are also questioning the veracity of the information.

Jennifer Wright, GM Canada’s Executive Director of Communications, did acknowledge that production locations for future light-duty Silverados have “not been disclosed,” but cited a recent $343 million investment in the plant as evidence GM is not making any move to reduce production in Oshawa.

“There is no planned production scale-back at Oshawa Assembly,” she said. “Oshawa Assembly continues to play a key role in GM’s full-size truck lineup, and current employment and shift structure are expected to be retained when the plant transitions to next- generation truck production.”

Oshawa GM Redditt, a forum mostly made up of GM workers and their friends and neighbours, were also taking the speculation with a grain of salt, with some mixed reactions.

• “Brutal News.” – duffman
• “Don’t believe it until you hear it from a reputable news source.” – xunderdog
• “We already don’t build a lot of light duties. Two shifts will run it.” – similarlawyer
• “Negotiation threat.” – bootsy

Production was already in decline before this year, with 152,190 trucks rolling off the line in 2024 and just 125,758 in 2025.

Then Feb. 2, 2026 happened, with at least 500 workers at the Oshawa assembly plant (and probably hundreds more in the supply chain) laid off as the company tried to deal with tariff-related issues from the administration of Donald Trump.

That news that the plant would lose its third shift was announced in advance, with the unionized workers told in May 2025 that it would happen in November.

That deadline was subsequently extended to Feb. 2.

The backdrop of this is the 2026 Detroit Three auto negotiations, which begin this week with Unifor trying to hammer out a deal with Ford Motor Company that will be the blueprint for GM and Stellantis as well.

“Currently, the Canadian auto sector, and in turn our members and their families, face unprecedented challenges. Unifor firmly believes it is in the best interest of our members across the Detroit Three to work to establish the pattern agreement for 2026 auto bargaining with Ford Motor Company,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

GM workers in Oshawa already knew they were going to build the next-gen trucks this fall. Will that include both light-duty and heavy-duty trucks?

The two sides will certainly have a lot to talk about.