Listening to CBC yesterday they mentioned that the Oshawa facility was only running at 50% capacity. If that is true then I think this is just strictly a business decision based on a changing market. I don't see the point to continue to throw money into an industry that has changed. I think Ford mentioned that the times have changed and we are competing globally now. Things just aren't the same as they used to be.
We have all seen it in the oil patch and fisheries and people have had to adapt. The world is a different place now where people change careers multiple times.
We also keep hearing about the bailout given to GM in 2008, which if I am not mistaken was repaid. It gave another decade to the industry.
Silver lining is these 2600 workers get a full year to try and sort things out, which is a far cry with what we are seeing in Calgary. For those older workers it was talked that part of the package for help would be to help bridge them to retirement. So it sounds like between the packages from GM and the potential help from governments that a good chuck that can be taken care of. It may not help the younger employees there, but it sounds like there will be a lot of help available (extended EI, being able to take courses and collect EI, education programs, etc), which sounds like more then what was offered out here.
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