General Motors will move production of its iconic Chevrolet Camaro from Oshawa to Michigan when the next generation of the muscle car goes into production.

The announcement today received an angry reaction from the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents about 4,000 workers at the Oshawa assembly complex.

General Motors has once again shown a complete and utter disregard for its workers and also Canadians in general, whose tax dollars kept the company out of bankruptcy, CAW president Ken Lewenza said in a statement.

GM declined to reveal when the next generation Camaro will launch, but the CAW said the change is expected in late 2015 or early 2016. The union estimates the Camaro makes up about a quarter to a third of GMs production in Oshawa.

We are going to assemble the next gen(eration) Chevrolet Camaro at Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant, GM Canada spokeswoman Faye Roberts said. This decision is based on a comprehensive U.S. business case. The key factors in this business case were lower capital investment (wages) and improved production efficiencies.

The Camaro is the only rear wheel vehicle currently built in Oshawa, while moving it to Lansing, Mich. will put it in a plant where two other rear-wheel vehicles, the Cadillac CTS and ATS, are built, she said.

The current model Camaro is built on a flexible assembly line in Oshawa that employs about 2,000 workers and also produces the Buick Regal. GM invested $185 million to add production of the recently launched Cadillac XTS and the next generation Chevrolet Impala in early 2013. The line currently produces about 700 vehicles a day. A third shift is being added to the line to support production of the new Impala and is expected to add about 900 jobs.

At the same time, the company plans to close its Oshawa "consolidated plant", which currently makes the Equinox and Impala and employs about 750 workers.

It is too early to say how losing the Camaro will affect employment in Oshawa, but GM will continue honour its commitment to keep 16 per cent of its North American manufacturing footprint in Canada, Roberts said. The company made the commitment to the Ontario and federal governments when they helped bail it out following its bankruptcy in the United States.

GM currently has about 8,000 employees in Canada, most of them in Oshawa and St. Catharines.

Workers in Oshawa are being informed of the decision this afternoon, Roberts said.

The CAW is holding a press conference in Oshawa at 2 p.m.