WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Ford Motor Company is calling some workers back to get the Windsor Engine Plant ready for an eventual return to production.
Unifor Local 200 president John D'Agnolo tells CTV News the plan is to have a limited number of employees return this Monday.
"We're going to be bringing in a small group of people, approximately 190 members, both in skilled trades and production, to get things running again because the machines have been down for quite some time," said D’Agnolo.
The workers will be going in to develop a safety plan that includes checking employee temperatures twice, providing hand sanitizer and face masks, while maintaining social distance, before an eventual return to full production.
"We have to make sure workers are safe, but at the same time there's that balance where we have to keep production,” said D’Agnolo. “If we don't have that, you're going to see people out of work, could be forever! So these are things that we have to have balance on."
About 50,000 face shields will continue to be made at the facility. Earlier this month, the Windsor Engine Plant was re-purposed to meet the urgent demand to help protect emergency workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total number of workers between Ford Essex and Windsor is 1,600.
