More Canadian layoffs on day 2 of GM strike in U.S.

By John McCrank

TORONTO (Reuters) - Another General Motors plant in Canada has shut its doors amid a strike at GM's U.S. operations, a spokesman for GM Canada said on Tuesday, and one more plant was up for review later in the day.

GM Canada closed its Car Plant 1 in Oshawa, Ontario, at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, the second day of the U.S. strike, said Stew Low, public relations director at GM Canada.

The plant, which employs 3,000 workers, builds the Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, and, like all GM Canada plants, is closely integrated with GM's operations in the United States and depends on them for some parts.

Car Plant 2 in Oshawa is up for review at the end of the Tuesday day shift. The plant builds the Pontiac Grand Prix and the Buick Allure and employs 2,500 workers.

On Monday, the company's transmissions plant in Windsor, Ontario, with 1,400 staff, shut down.

GM Canada also has a truck plant in Oshawa, an engine and components plant in St. Catharines, Ontario, a parts and distribution plant in Woodstock, Ontario, and a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corp at Ingersoll, Ontario.

Low said the company would assess each plant separately on a day-to-day basis.

Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, said on Monday that up to 100,000 Canadian workers could be laid off if the U.S. strike drags on.

General Motors itself employs 17,000 workers in Canada who could face layoffs if the strike is prolonged.

In addition, the Canadian autoparts industry employs about 80,000 people and GM buys about half of all the automotive parts manufactured in Canada, Hargrove said.

As many as 40,000 of those autoparts workers could be laid off by Wednesday, he said.

SPILL OVER EFFECTS

A spokeswoman for Canadian autoparts giant Magna International said on Tuesday the company was monitoring GM schedules and bulletins closely, and would respond accordingly.

While layoffs may be inevitable, the stock prices of Canadian autoparts suppliers that ship to GM may only be moderately affected by the work stoppage, said Peter Sklar, an autoparts analyst at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.

Investors will likely look at the situation as a one-time nonrecurring item, as they have in similar occurrences in the past, said Sklar. Some, he added, may see the strike as a sign that GM is hanging tough in its negotiations and is determined to secure the concessions necessary to make the company competitive.