Magna has said that it is not in talks with either GM or Ford about making a vehicle for them in North America and that it doesn’t believe either company is ready to consider outsourcing complete car assembly given their financial troubles.
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The comments cast doubts on whether Ford would go for a new Canadian Auto Workers union proposal for the automaker to contract out assembly of small cars at a yet-unbuilt plant in St. Thomas, Ont., to an outside supplier, namely Magna.
“Given all that work and turbulence, I don’t view either company as being a prime candidate for niche vehicle manufacturing,” Magna president Mark Hogan said in an interview reported by the National Post.
“That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t call me later today and change that. But I’m just surmising given their current situation that they’re probably not likely to ask for our help, at least in the near future.”
Aurora, Ont.-based Magna International is not in talks with Ford or GM about building vehicles for them, Hogan said.
The CAW, seeking to protect 2,200 jobs at St. Thomas threatened by Ford’s planned production slowdown, pitched a plan to Ford and Magna executives in June for a new assembly plant for small cars next to the St. Thomas site.
The union offered significant wage and other concessions to make the plan work. Ford had said it was scouting the continent for a low-cost site to build entry-level autos.
