General Motors Co is bringing back 600 laid-off workers at its Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant, where it is adding a third shift to support a ramp-up in production at another local factory, the company said on Friday.

GM is expanding its CAMI plant, in Ingersoll, Ontario, to build more body assemblies of the hot-selling Chevrolet Equinox.

The parts will be shipped about 200 kilometers (130 miles) to Oshawa for painting and final assembly.

The plan also allows for an increase in GMC Terrain volumes.

North American sales of the two crossover vehicles have been up more than 100 percent in the past few months, the company said.

The expansion at CAMI means about 110 employees who are still laid off there will be called back and about 70 new jobs will be added by August.

GM plans to start the third shift at the Oshawa plant in October.

By the end of this year, we expect to recall all laid-off production employees in Oshawa to support the new Equinox, Regal and Camaro convertible production planned there and, at CAMI, we will even be hiring some new workers, Kevin Williams, president of GM Canada, said in a release.

GM also builds the Chevrolet Impala in Oshawa.

The company employs about 9,000 people in Canada, manufacturing vehicles and powertrains.

(Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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