As reaction continues to pour in over the Oshawa plant closure, there’s positive news to report out of the General Motors plant in Ingersoll.
Thanks to an incoming wave of workers at Cami being eligible for retirement, more than 300 workers currently on layoff are expected to be back on the job by the end of 2019.
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Unifor has a 30-and-out retirement formula for its workers, and while they won’t be forced to retire, workers hired when the plant opened in 1988 are now eligible.
President of Unifor Local 88, Joe Graves, tells 980 CFPL Cami is recalling over two dozen workers next month.
“A large population of our plant was hired in 1989, so a lot of these people are now hitting the 30-and-out threshold to be able to retire early,” said Graves, “so the numbers are really coming in for people leaving. So that’s allowed GM to recall 25 people on December 1, and we’re really hoping that in the new year, a lot of the laid off workers who’ve been laid off for over a year and a half will be recalled over the next year.”
Sales remain strong for the Equinox, but Graves admits Monday’s news out of Oshawa has left many employees feeling anxious.
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“Luckily right now, we seem to be fine, but when GM is closing plants across North America, it’s always in the back of everyone’s mind, when and if they could do it to us,” he said.
About 400 workers at Cami will be eligible for retirement in 2019, and another 450 the following year.