The unemployment rolls in Windsor, Ont., are about to take a dip as 153 laid off Ford workers will be going back to work for the automaker.
The only catch is it will be in a different city. They will be heading to Ford's Oakville, Ont., facility as part of the automaker's preferential hiring program aimed at filling up to 400 new jobs.
Debbie Linton has been laid off from her job at Ford for the past five years. She's been juggling multiple jobs and school - doing anything to get by.
“I kind of just roll with the punches,” says Linton. “You gotta do what you gotta do at the end of the day."
She was faced with a tough decision – to stay and pursue other opportunities or leave her family behind to secure her future.
“I feel fortunate that I'm getting this opportunity,” she says. “On the other side of that, I've got to leave my family behind because my husband has a job in Windsor."
CAW Local 200 president Chris Taylor says the workers are needed to handle increased volumes for the Ford Flex, Edge and Lincoln MKX, which are all built there.
“We're hopeful these jobs will last and our members are going up there hopefully to finish out their career,” says Taylor.
The 400 jobs were part of the four-year collective agreement reached earlier this year between the CAW and Ford.
Taylor says the automaker has indicated plans for another 300 jobs stemming from the installation of a 2014, 2015 vehicle platform.
The preferential hiring program reduces the number of laid off Windsor workers to about 450.
Now that Linton has made up her mind, she's looking at living arrangements. Property values in Oakville are as much as three times that of Windsor. She's also worried about being a weekend warrior along Highway 401 and her daily commute in the Greater Toronto Area.
"It's going to be difficult,” says Linton. “I'm not fooling myself. I'm just worried about the traffic. I'm used to three minutes (to) seven minutes to work. I'm not going to have that anymore."
