Ontario will soon be home to a new software centre tasked with research into self-driving cars, General Motors announced Friday.
Advertisement
OSHAWA, Ontario, June 10 General Motors Co said on Friday it will expand its Canadian engineering base to reach a total of about 1,000 jobs in Canada’s auto-making province of Ontario as it boosts research spending on connected and driverless cars.
GM Canada’s investment will focus in on the work involved with Autonomous Vehicle Software & Controls Development, Active Safety and Vehicle Dynamics Technology, Infotainment, and Connected Vehicle Technology. Reuters said Ontario hailed the announcement as a sign of confidence in Canadian automaking.
Because this would put the Oshawa Tech Center beyond maximum operational capacity, General Motors will open a new Automotive Software Development Center in Markham, Ontario. If GM fails to re-invest in the Oshawa plant approximately 30,000 manufacturing jobs could disappear next year along with the loss of hundreds of millions in spending on auto parts and raw materials required for assembly.
GM has about 9,000 employees in Ontario including assembly plants in Oshawa and Ingersoll and an engine plant in St. Catharines.
GM’s engineering centre in Oshawa now employs 250 people.
Advertisement
In 2012, General Motors announced it would spend $750 million on research and development by 2017, under a commitment to both the Provincial and Federal governments, which helped with the U.S. bailout in 2009. Last year, the Canadian government sold its GM shares for $3.26 billion and the Ontario government also divested itself of remaining GM holdings.
