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U. S. tariffs are being blamed for temporary layoff notices at a Cambridge, Ont., company that manufactures camper vans and class B RV motor homes.
Roadtrek employs 80 people represented by Unifor Local 1106.
Union local president Ramon Souto told CBC K-W this is the first temporary layoff the company has experienced.
“Our members at Roadtrek received a temporary layoff notice on Friday that they would be laid off the entire plant for this week,” Souto said.
“The expectation is that they’ll be back at work on April 14, but nothing’s confirmed yet.”
In a statement emailed to CBC K-W, Roadtrek said it was taking a proactive step to temporarily pause production, because the “global tariff changes are impacting key raw materials, components and finished goods.”
“This brief pause will allow us to carefully evaluate the impact on our operations, products, partners, and customers,” the statement said.
“During this time, our focus is on swiftly reassessing the market landscape and implementing smart, strategic actions that will position both Roadtrek Inc. and our employees for long-term strength and continued excellence. We remain fully committed to our mission of delivering innovative, high-quality products and outstanding support to our customers and community.”
Guelph’s Linamar awaits details of new tariffs May 3
A new set of U. S. tariffs are scheduled to kick in on May 3 and they’re expected to impact Guelph’s Linamar Corporation, which employs 34,000 people around the world.
Linamar, one of Canada’s largest companies, supplies auto parts to car plants right across the continent.
The company is waiting for clarification and on what these new tariffs will mean. The U. S. administration has said parts that comply with CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) “will remain tariff-free until the secretary of commerce, in consultation with the U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), establishing a process to apply tariffs to their non-U. S. content.”
Jim Jarrell, Linamar’s president and CEO, told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning he considers the tariff issue unhealthy for business, and they’re still looking for more clarity on what will happen on May 3 and the affect the tariffs will have on the auto and auto parts that have been working at a global level. араграф дир = “лтр” >”It’s like an omelette. How do you uncook an omelette?” Jarrell said. “You have all these ingredients from Mexico , and we have it from Canadaandthe U. S , andtouncookthis , it’s really difficultandit’s not pragmaticontheauto partssideatall.” араграф >
Possible business opportunities?араграф дир = “лтр” >Jarrellsaidifthetariffspersist, thecompanywill”have toright-sizeanddowhatweneedtodo.” араграф >араграф дир = “лтр” >Hesaidtheremaybeanopportunityinallthenegativenewsifthetariffsonautopartsarenotintroduced. араграф >араграф дир = “лтр” >”Allofthecustomersaregoingtobe saying,’OK, youknow, we havetariffsin China, wehavetariffsin India, wehavetariffsoutof Europe,'” Jarrellsaid. араграф >араграф дир = “лтр” >”‘OK, Mabyeif USMCAcomplianceiscritical, wecannowofferthattocustomers, tohavea USMCAcompliancewhichtariffexemptandstarttolooktobringpartsinto Canada , North America, U. Sand Mexico.'” араграф >
Protectingjobsараграфдир=“лтр”>Soutosaidtheunionwillcontinuefightingfor Roadtrekworkerstokeeptheirjobs. араграф >араگرافдир=“лтр”>”Ourunionwillbefightingforourmembersandwe’lldoeverythinginourpower , whatevertakestoprotectthesejobsandtheindustrymovingforward,” Soutosaid.
“President [Donald] Trump’s causing economic chaos right now , tryingtodivertinvestmentsawayfrom Canada , stealourjobs. Soit’sledtoalotofuncertaintywhentitcomestothemembers. Nobodyknowswhat’sgoingtohappendaytoday.”
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