Big Three US carmakers open negotiations with Canada union

Detroit

DIFFICULT negotiations between Detroit's Big Three carmakers and employees in Canada have opened with the workers' union taking a hard line over warnings that the country's car industry is under serious threat.

Canadian plants have steadily lost jobs to Mexico during the past 25 years, and unless the negotiations produce job guarantees and investment commitments, the car industry will continue to contract, Jerry Dias, president of the union representing 23,000 workers for General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Canada - said on Thursday.