Bell has appeared to make mending the company’s relationship with labor a priority since becoming head of GM Canada in September 2019. For instance, in November of that year he spent a day working on the assembly line at CAMI to experience what jobs are like for the company’s workers.
“It certainly hasn’t been all easy street for either side over the years,” Bell said. “We’ve been looking for the right solutions that make sense for Canada. We’ve had a couple big wins here recently.”
Despite all of the dust-ups with GM, Dias said Canada’s automotive manufacturing footprint is stronger than it has been in years.
“Bargaining with GM is always incredibly tough,” he said. “Because of our personalities, we tend to clash because we’re both stubborn, to be candid with you. At the end of the day, we may argue, but we found a way to come to a solution.”
Dias is hopeful the repaired relationship with GM will yield further investments and product commitments in the future.
“Our relationship with GM is strong, and I think GM has won back the trust of Canadian consumers,” he said. “All the stars are aligned.”
