GM restarts truck production at assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont.

Automaker General Motors has restarted vehicle production at its Oshawa assembly plant after shutting operations down at the end of 2019.

As first reported by The Canadian Press, GM says the first Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck on the retooled line was completed on Nov. 10 and that trucks will start shipping to dealers in December.

GM says the Oshawa, Ont. plant should create about 1,800 jobs over two shifts, while also supporting thousands of additional jobs from suppliers.

The restart of production comes about a year after GM announced it would invest upwards of $1.3 billion to reopen the operation.

GM, which said it moved to reopen the plant because of strong demand for pickups, had initially planned to restart operations in early 2022 but moved up the schedule earlier this year.

The closure of the Oshawa plant in late 2019 led to about 2,300 GM employees being laid off, plus thousands of other workers at various suppliers.