Two GM Plants in Canada Extend Summer Downtime

General Motors Co. factories plants in Oshawa and St. Catharines, Ontario, are extending their usual two-week summer production halts to help lower dealer inventories of unsold vehicles, says Automotive News.

Both facilities are scheduled to suspend output between July 17 and July 29. GM says the two plants have been advised of “some additional down weeks” but declines to offer specifics.

Oshawa assembles Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala large sedans. The plant also has been scheduled to phase out the Chevy Equinox SUV this summer and begin making Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra large pickup trucks.

GM’s St. Catharines builds V-6 engines used in a variety of the company’s cars and midsize SUV/crossover vehicles.

The Canadian cutbacks follow previously announced plans to reduce output at five other facilities in the U.S. this summer. GM’s U.S. sales dipped 1% to 3.04 million units last year and were down 1% through the first five months of 2017, according to Autodata Corp.