Southwestern Ontario's electric vehicle boom is gaining momentum.

Auto giant General Motors (GM) announced the creation of nearly 300 new jobs at their CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., Tuesday, along with an estimated start time for electric vehicle battery module production that will be covered by those new jobs.

The move is slated to support the company's increasing electric vehicle (EV) production into the future and will see new positions working in the 400,000-square-foot facility that is currently under construction, according to a media release from the company.

The announcement comes amid a temporary closure of the CAMI plant due to a battery shortage — a closure that started earlier this month and will end on Monday, said Mike Van Boekel, Unifor Local 88 chairperson.

"Right now, they're aiming [to start production in] the second quarter of 2024 and it should equal close to 300 more jobs for the plant, which is fantastic not only for our members but for the community in the area surrounding us," said Van Boekel.

"Hopefully, that'll stop the bottleneck once we get going again and hopefully there's a bright light at the end of the tunnel now."

The plant currently employs roughly 1,500 people. The added jobs will see that number balloon to somewhere near 1,800, Van Boekel said.

Work to refit the CAMI plant for EV production will run until October when the company will end production of the Chevrolet Equinox and move on to production of a new line of electric commercial vans under the brand BrightDrop.

In April, the federal and provincial governments announced up to $259 million in funding for the CAMI facility.

The update points toward a bright future for those working in the auto industry as manufacturing shifts toward green vehicles and new high-paying jobs continue to pile on, according to Van Boekel.

Job postings are expected to go up in the near future.