Ford’s Oakville plant will shed about 200 jobs from September, the company said.
In a statement, the automaker said the changes were the result of a “long-standing practice of matching production with consumer demand.”
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“We are changing from tag relief to mass relief in final assembly which means the line will now stop during breaks. We are also eliminating one shift in paint, bringing that area of the plant to two shifts, affecting approximately 200 jobs. The layoffs will begin in September,” Ford said.
According to just-auto’s PLDB, the plant builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus and is due to end output of the long-running Flex in the third quarter of 2019. All are medium or large SUVs.
In a message to members, Unifor Local 707 [union branch] president Dave Thomas said he was called to the plant manager’s office on 17 July to discuss changes to upcoming scheduling and various restructuring measures.
Thomas added employees could see further layoffs in January 2020.
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By GlobalData“We have been arguing as a local for the past several weeks trying to persuade the company from somehow avoiding this scenario but to no avail. As always, it’s based on a business decision and it all comes down to dollars and cents,” Thomas’ message said.
Minister of economic development, job creation and trade, Vic Fedeli, said Ontario province was “disappointed to learn of Ford’s decision”.
The ministry of training, colleges and universities had also been in contact with Ford , offering support to the affected workers.
“Ford informed the ministry they have made arrangements to provide support and do not require any additional help from Employment Ontario,” it said.
Opposition leader Andrea Horwath also issued a statement calling out government “inaction” in the face of the layoffs.
The move is just the latest blow to the automotive production sector in Ontario, coming just months after the announcement General Motors would stop making cars in Oshawa, Ontario.
Ford is cutting 12,000 jobs in Europe but has just announced 1,200 new hires in South Africa.
