Ford to add 150 jobs, increase production in Windsor, Ont.

Ford Motor Company is expected to increase engine production volumes and add jobs in Windsor due to the production of Super Duty trucks in Oakville.

The automaker announced Thursday it will begin production of F-Series Super Duty trucks at the Oakville Assembly Complex in summer 2026.

The increased production will add approximately 150 jobs at the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, which will manufacture more V-10 engines for the Super Duty, according to Unifor Local 200 president John D'Agnolo.

"At one point, back in the day, we were really struggling," D'Agnolo said. "You can see the turnaround in Windsor. It's because of the work that's been done by the workers in the plant."

Unifor stated that Oakville will begin producing the next-generation Super Duty, including an electrified version of the pickup, later in the decade.

"Oakville will be the sole initial source of multi-energy Super Duty production," the union said in a news release Thursday.

Production at the Oakville plant ceased with the final Ford Edge rolling off the assembly line in May 2024. Super Duty truck production will replace previous plans to build Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in Oakville.A parking lot with employees' vehicles at the Ford assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., on Thursday, March 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

In April 2024, the automaker announced its decision to delay the launch of BEV production from 2025 to 2027.

The delay would have resulted in Unifor Local 707 members being laid off for more than three years.

Since the delay was announced in April 2024, Unifor has been engaged in negotiations with the company to push for additional support mechanisms for workers and an accelerated resumption of production at Oakville.

According to Unifor National president Lana Payne, the new retooling plan for the Oakville plant "addresses our union’s concerns with Ford Motor Company’s decision to delay new vehicle production for a period that was too long, too disruptive, and too harmful to accept."

"Working with our local unions and company executives, we came to an agreement that will not only see our members back to work sooner, but it also protects our members’ jobs well into the future," said Payne.

The Essex Engine Plant, which employs around 730 workers, produces engines for Ford's F-series and the Mustang.

"Ford in Oakville is projecting 100,000 pickups as their maximum capacity, so you would need the same number of engines," said Greg Layson of Automotive News Canada.Greg Layson, an editor for Automotive News Canada, stands in front of the Ford Annex Plant in Windsor, Ont. on Jul. 18, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

"It means more jobs, more work in Windsor, and a longer lifeline for the plants. This is all something that we've been looking for in Windsor to secure jobs long-term."

Despite Ford and Unifor holding back on setting a more firm commitment on when the automaker will build electric vehicles in Oakville, Layson said it's going to happen — but now is not the time.

"Usually in these contracts, in these announcements, there is language that surrounds 'depending on market conditions.' I think this is a result of market conditions. I don't think that automakers can build an affordable three-row electric vehicle yet."

D'Agnolo agrees, adding he expects Ford to move ahead with its plans to shift toward electrification.

"If you think about the investments that are happening around us within our communities, if you look at Stellantis and what they're investing in, I think it's moving forward," said D'Agnolo.

In addition to the accelerated timeline for the launch of Oakville’s next product, the union said it succeeded in extending and enhancing the income security transition provisions originally negotiated during 2023 bargaining.

Ford’s new product commitments will result in an additional investment of $500 million, on top of the $1.8 billion Ford Motor Company committed in 2020.