GM Canada says it has reached a tentative agreement with Unifor at CAMI and will invest $1 billion to transform its plant in Ingersoll, Ont., into a commercial electric vehicle manufacturing plant pending member ratification.
Large-scale commercial production of BrightDrop EV 600s, an all-electric van, is set to begin next year.
BrightDrop is the all-new GM business announced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show that will offer a cleaner way for delivery and logistics companies, according to GM Canada.
“This tentative deal delivers significant investment, new products, new jobs and job security,” said Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor.
More details of the tentative agreement will be presented to Local 88 members at an online ratification meeting on Sunday.
Results of the ratification vote are set to be released on Monday.
A statement issued late Friday by Unifor said this contract, if ratified, will bring the total investment negotiated by the union to nearly $6 billion.
This comes after new agreements were ratified with General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler last year that included support from the federal and Ontario governments.
In September, Ford reached a deal of $1.95 billion to bring battery electric vehicle production to Oakville and a new engine derivative to Windsor, according to the union.
The Fiat Chrysler agreement included more than $1.5 billion for a platform to build both plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles.
Unifor says General Motors agreed to a $1.3 billion investment in November to bring 1,700 jobs to Oshawa as well as more than $109 million to support continued V8 engine production in St. Catharines.
“GM’s proposed $1 billion investment would create Canada’s first large-scale commercial electric vehicle manufacturing plant,” Premier Doug Ford and Vic Fedeli, the minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade said in a dual statement.
“This deal is good news for the hard-working people of Ingersoll, the surrounding region and for all of Ontario.”