Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced it will cut the third shift at its Windsor Assembly Plant at the end of June 2020, impacting about 1,500 jobs.
The 4.4 million square-foot facility in Windsor, Ont., employs 5,844 people on three shifts making the Chrysler Pacifica SUV and Chrysler Voyager and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans.
In March 2019, FCA announced it would furlough the shift later that year. After meetings between Unifor and federal and provincial officials, FCA extended production while conducting monthly evaluations of the shift’s viability.
“Unifor is very disappointed that FCA was unable to find a solution that would have avoided job losses,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias.
“There is no doubt that investment in Canadian production will be a priority during negotiations with the Detroit Three but we will also be continuing the conversation with all levels of government about the need for a national auto strategy to stabilize and grow this key sector,” said Dias.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. It will enter into collective bargaining with FCA, General Motors and Ford in the summer of 2020.
