The new site forms part of a broader investment programme combining federal and provincial funding with internal capital from the manufacturer. According to the company, the facility allows heavy-duty transit buses - including zero-emission models - to be manufactured entirely in Winnipeg, restoring a complete domestic production chain that had not been present in Canada for fifteen years.
Leonardo owns Britain's last military helicopter manufacturing site, employing 3,000 workers, and was the only bidder for the contract. It is understood that the chancellor and prime minister chose to intervene to ensure the project would go ahead, in part to protect UK jobs.
They were among the first workers to be laid off as GM cuts one of three shifts. Up to 1,200 autoworkers across the supply chain are expected to lose their jobs. A lot of people have some sort of resentment, but you've just got to go on, move on, said Kendrick Gordon, speaking outside the plant on his last day working for a subcontractor.
