A nationwide strike in the U.S. by General Motors employees could leave as many as 100,000 Canadian workers without jobs, Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove said Monday.

About 73,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike at GM plants across the United States Monday. The members are employed by GM at 82 U.S. facilities -- which include assembly and parts plants and warehouses.

Because of the strike action, Hargrove said jobs in Canada will see an immediate impact.

Hargrove confirmed the following:

• Oshawa, Ont. car plant no. 1, which builds the Chevrolet Impala and the Monte Carlo, will close down at 3 a.m. Tuesday
• Oshawa, Ont. plant no 2, which builds the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Allure, will close at the end of the day shift Tuesday
• The Oshawa, Ont. truck plant, which produces the Silverado and the Sierra, has enough parts for three more days of production
• GM's engine plant in St. Catharines, Ont. will close within 72 hours
• GM's Windsor, Ont. transmission plant has already been closed down

"In addition to that there will be literally thousands and thousands of auto parts workers in the independent auto parts sector that will be laid off if the dispute continues, some of them will already be laid off as of today," Hargrove told reporters.

Hargrove said that there are about 80,000 workers in Canada employed in the automotive parts sector and GM buys about 50 per cent of all parts creates in Canada.

He said that means roughly 40,000 auto parts workers could be laid off within the next few days.

In total, adding in suppliers and service workers at various plants, Hargrove said "anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 people" could soon be unemployed in Ontario and Quebec.

U.S. negotiations

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Monday that job security was the major unresolved issue prompting the action.

It is the first nationwide strike against the U.S. auto industry since 1976. Gettelfinger said GM failed to meet the union halfway in contract negotiations.

"We were pushed into a strike and that's where we're at," he told reporters.

Gettelfinger said negotiations would resume Monday and that the UAW was willing to discuss a key GM demand that a UAW-managed trust fund be established to cover health care for retirees.

If accepted, the trust would alleviate GM of US$51 billion in unfunded health costs. GM is currently responsible for nearly 339,000 retirees and surviving spouses.

Still, Gettelfinger said the strike was not related to the trust fund but rather to job security.

In a statement Monday, GM spokesman Dan Flores said the company was disappointed about the strike situation.

"The bargaining involves complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force and the long-term viability of the company," said Flores. "We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors.

"We will continue focusing our efforts on reaching an agreement as soon as possible."

With files from The Associated Press