While General Motors Corp. will almost certainly file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. today, its Canadian subsidiary should emerge from a restructuring process relatively unscathed.
The restructuring will see the company that once defined the automobile — and capitalism — in North America emerge a government-controlled shadow of its former self.
GM’s Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn brands will be casualties of the restructuring, and its European Opel unit has already been sold to Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International.
However, GM Canada’s operations — which have already been hit by the closure of a southern Ontario truck plant earlier this month and the planned closure of a transmission plant next year — face a relatively stable future, at least compared to their U.S. counterparts.
Like Chrysler, GM will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. but won’t file for the same protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada.
Unlike Chrysler, however, GM’s southern Ontario-based Canadian operations should continue running as it restructures.
In the longer run, GM plans to launch three of six new products at its car plant in Oshawa and the CAMI joint-venture factory in Ingersoll, which the company runs with Japanese carmaker Suzuki.
