(Reuters) – General Motors Co. and the Unifor trade union said Friday that they have reached a promising agreement for the automaker to invest nearly C $ 1 billion ($ 785.42 million) at its CAMI Assembly Center in Ingersoll, Ontario. to make commercial electric vans.
Under the promising contract, which has yet to be ratified by union workers, GM has agreed to start a major commercial production of EV600, an electric van, at their CAMI plant, Unifor said in a statement.
The Detroit automaker said in a separate statement that work would begin immediately at the plant.
The new contract builds on recent investments by GM in Canada, which in November agreed to invest C $ 1 billion in their Oshawa plant to expand production of their full-size construction trucks.
The Canadian government welcomed the treaty and said it would reaffirm its support as soon as union members ratify the agreement.
“We are awaiting the outcome of the ratification vote,” Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.
Unifor, the union representing Canada’s hourly workers, said more details of the deal would be given to local union members at an online ratification meeting scheduled for 17 January, and their results are expected to be released a day later.
($ 1 = 1.2732 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru with additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore