General Motors (GM) has said that it will develop the new edition of its Impala at the company's Oshawa, Ontario plant. This decision was made primarily due to the Ontario government's commitment towards making an investment in the auto sector. Ontario government had joined hands with Canadian and American governments in 2009 in order to assist GM in restructuring. Since then, the manufacturer has paid off its loans and already said that it will invest close to $ 1 billion.
GM has also made other investments in Ontario, including $ 480 million in its engine and transmission facility in St. Catharines and $ 117 million in manufacturing the new Cadillac XTS at its Oshawa plant. Apart from these, $ 96 million were also set aside for expanding the capacity of its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll. The company also added another shift for boosting its operations at the Oshawa unit.
Regarding Ontario's investment in GM, Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation, said, "These jobs were on the line in 2009 and now there's a new line of vehicles in production in Oshawa. We invested in GM because we believed in their future and in our auto workers. This is not just a boost to the economy, but a boost of confidence for the entire region."
Ontario government strongly emphasises on the auto sector in order to secure jobs for the masses and helping in the economic growth of the region. These efforts will help in making sure that Ontario will maintain its position as the largest car manufacturing region of North America. The automotive industry is instrumental for the economy of Ontario, providing the region with close to 4,00,000 jobs. The government has almost halved taxes levied on new business investments since 2009 in a bid to make Ontario competitive and for improving rate of economic development.
