Ontario Premier speaks with Stellantis representatives about loss of second shift at Windsor Assembly Plant

Windsor Assembly Plant employees are back on the job in Windsor, Ont. Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. (Bob Bellacicco / CTV Windsor)

Windsor, Ont. -

The Office of the Premier says Doug Ford spoke with Stellantis representatives on Tuesday and encouraged the company to work with union leadership to ensure “everything is being done to get the plant back to operating at full capacity.”

A statement from Ford’s office said he along with Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli spoke with representatives from Stellantis, including Chief Operating Officer, FCA North America, Mark Stewart, and president and CEO of FCA Canada, Dave Buckingham, about the company’s plans to eliminate the facility’s second shift which would see a loss of about 1,800 jobs.

“Premier Ford expressed his disappointment with the decision to eliminate the facility’s second shift putting nearly two thousand Ontarians out of a job next year,” the statement said.

When speaking in Windsor-Essex on Monday, Ford said he wants to see three shifts at the plants again and that the federal and provincial governments would be making a "huge" investment to help ramp up production.

Stellantis announced last Friday it would be eliminating its Windsor Assembly Plant down to one shift next spring, a move the company attributes to the world-wide semi-conductor shortage as well as other economic pressures caused by the pandemic.

The plant has faced numerous shut downs since March due to the shortage, but workers were back on the job at the end of September.

Many were surprised by the announcement, noting the loss will have a significant impact on the Windsor community.

Stellantis says it will cut the second shift beginning in the spring, but reaffirmed its commitment in the 2020 collective agreement with the local Unifor union to spend upwards of $1.5 billion at the plant.

During Tuesday’s discussions, Ford’s office says the premier “reaffirmed his long-standing commitment to the success of Ontario’s auto manufacturing sector and the tens of thousands of hardworking Ontarians it directly employs. He also made clear that our government would continue to do everything we can to stand up for Ontario workers and the good-paying jobs they rely on.”

The Windsor plant produces the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Grand Caravan.

- With files from The Canadian Press