Today, readers are discussing GM’s plant closures in Oshawa and across North America.
The General Motors assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos OsorioCARLOS OSORIO/Reuters
What GM’s Oshawa plant closure – and four others in North America – says about the auto industry by Ian McGugan
Urban retired folks like me don't really need cars anymore. My kids can't really afford them. Despite their university degrees, they make barely enough money to survive in the city and their employers don't provide benefits. And they have significant student debt. So, it's not surprising that the outlook for car sales is dismal and likely to remain so for a long time. As a matter of industrial policy, new green technologies are the way to go, so let governments spend more money there instead of buying time for dying industries. - kidcanuck1
The bailout never should have happened. Our government panicked and made a terrible decision. It was easy to see that that money was never going to be recouped. It’s terrible that people lose their jobs, I have been through it, but it happens. That money could have gone to better things, including education and training for those workers. - r u reasonable
Ford is making the wrong bet on SUVs and light trucks. Sure, they’re the flavour of the month now, but the writing is on the wall for gas guzzlers. We are already seeing governments taking bold steps against ICE cars, and the trend will continue What worries me is not just the disruption to the world economy as we wean ourselves off oil, but the lack of readiness for an EV revolution. We don’t have the generating capacity, grid, or charging infrastructure necessary to make the shift, and the first two will require massive public investment from indebted utilities, while the third will be looking for government handouts.
If we had the foresight to pump the carbon levy into these things rather than rebate it for political reasons, the switch could be much less painful. Another good use for that revenue would be aggressive R&D in Canada on improved battery technology that would make these things viable in our cold winters. Another area worth looking at is non-ferrous construction. Because EVs don't produce a lot of heat, there is no reason we couldn't use reinforced polymers for frames and bodies, eliminating the number one cause of premature car death in Canada -- rust. - WhistlingInTheDark
Certainly emerging technological change presents challenges for automakers. However, it continually surprises me to hear economic writers puzzle about why millennials are not buying cars. Here’s a hint: they don’t have any money. Young people earning crappy wages at precarious jobs and paying too much for rent are not going to be car customers and rich people can only buy so many cars. - Moseby1
From After GM’s Oshawa plant closure, the Liberals' industrial strategy is losing its credibility by Campbell Clark
The changes going on are largely out of Canada's hands regardless who who forms the government. There is a message here, automation is coming and will displace hundreds of thousands of people, and the economy is moving away from oil. - scottd
In response to scottd:
I hear you, but doing nothing is not an option. We need forward thinking leaders who can plan for this transition and implement policies to manage it and attract as much business as possible. However, not a single leader or party on the scene shows any capability of doing that. - kidster
No government could have a policy to prevent this event. What is funny is that Trump’s tariffs are helping to create the world he doesn’t believe in. A number of American plants are also shutting down, dumping workers, while GM moves to reduce emissions and fight climate change. And manufacturing by robot will continue to grow. - Dianne440
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