After an overwhelming vote for a strike mandate, workers at the Whitby Lear plant have gone on strike.

Approximately 400 workers, who are members of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, set up picket lines at midnight after talks collapsed late Saturday.

The two sides are still far apart and the union claims Lear’s demands for deep worker concessions come at a time when the company is making significant profits.

The workers voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike to back their demands.

Lear Whitby manufactures seats for vehicles produced at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, and there are fears that the Lear strike, if extended, could have a large impact on GM operations in the city.

The strike comes on the heels of another strike at auto-parts company Wescast, in Strathroy, Ontario, which started Saturday morning.

That strike resulted from a GM decision that could see jobs from the Strathroy facility moved to China.