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On Thursday, Ford revealed it will postpone restarting production at its Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant after planned upgrades for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing have been pushed back from 2025 to 2027. This adds two years to an anticipated six-to-eight-month closure and job losses for thousands of workers in the Greater Toronto Area.
Ford Oakville plant [Photo: Invest Ontario ]
The current assembly of traditional gas-powered Ford Edge vehicles is set to end in early May. While some employees will stay on to assist with the transition starting this year, many of the plant’s 3,200 Unifor members will face layoffs lasting up to three years. This timeline exceeds what was initially communicated and extends beyond the current contract expiration in 2026.
A letter from management dated April 4 explained that the delay is due to the evolving market for EVs; they mentioned that decreasing costs of EVs have “put significant pressure on EV profitability;” and that this “retiming” would help reduce material costs and facilitate more efficient battery technology adoption.
The shift towards EV production by auto manufacturers is being used as a pretext for significant job cuts and lower living standards while prioritizing profits. It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout the global supply chain could be lost as companies need fewer labor hours and parts per vehicle produced. Their objective appears to be leveraging EV production opportunities to enhance shareholder profits at workers’ expense, leading to real wage cuts and job instability.
This situation has already been backed by Unifor, which actively supports the transition toward EVs. As Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor has allied itself with pro-war, pro-austerity government policies, advocating for provincial and federal aid packages totaling billions in subsidies aimed at enticing corporate giants like Ford to upgrade their facilities and build new battery plants. In 2020, both the Liberal federal government and Conservative provincial government pledged CAD$590 million in subsidies for Ford’s retooling efforts at Oakville.
Unifor President Lana Payne learned about these extended layoffs during a meeting on Tuesday, April 2 with Ford CEO Jim Farley along with other executives at their Dearborn headquarters. She expressed her “extreme disappointment” regarding this decision but stated that the union would collaborate with management to “lessen the impact” on affected workers and their families.
The contract forced through last year by Payne’s Unifor leadership met substantial resistance from workers-including outright opposition from those working in Oakville-yet it imposes no limits on how long Ford can extend downtime at their plant. Additionally, there are no guarantees regarding “income security” if delays occur aside from vague commitments from management about consulting with union leaders.
After employing undemocratic tactics to get this contract passed-like disregarding internal ratification rules despite skilled trades’ disapproval-Payne and her colleagues arrogantly proclaimed “priorities met, pattern set.” Clearly these priorities served management interests rather than those of frontline workers.
Under current contract terms, laid-off autoworkers will receive only 70 percent of their regular wages through Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB). The duration of payments varies based on seniority; those with twenty years’ experience may receive support for up to two years while newer employees can expect only nine months of SUB assistance. Laid-off staff face extreme uncertainty financially as they await plant operations resumption which may force them into seeking alternative employment or relying on food banks just to survive.
The insecurity facing Oakville workers during-and even after-the lengthy shutdown mirrors experiences reported by employees at GM’s CAMI facility in Ingersoll, Ontario. That plant resumed operations recently after a six-month pause caused by battery shortages during its transition towards all-electric delivery vans; many had relied heavily on food banks while attempting survival under reduced pay conditions throughout this period.
This delay announcement comes shortly after news broke regarding 1,400 layoffs occurring at Ford’s flagship Rouge facility located in Dearborn Michigan where half those who had previously assembled F150 Lightning trucks-their top-selling current EV-will be reassigned while around seven hundred are being forced into early retirement options instead.
The recent job cuts alongside Stellantis’s termination notices issued towards hundreds of supplemental employees have further exposed how misleading UAW President Shawn Fain’s assertive rhetoric surrounding “record contracts.” The UAW staged a strike against Detroit Three automakers last year but failed miserably when it came down stopping production or significantly impacting corporate earnings overall.
The latest actions taken by Detroit Three firms across North America lay bare profound weaknesses inherent within both Unifor’s Nationalist approach as well as UAW strategies employed thus far-all together they only serve corporate interests ultimately benefiting executive teams who retain full freedom over adjusting levels & scaling back output whenever desired without facing repercussions whatsoever due directly stemming union bureaucracy connections forged over time between themselves & managing officials/governments alike! To defend jobs amid ongoing transitions necessitates embracing new approaches via rank-and-file committees empowering actual shop floor personnel instead! Through International Workers Alliance fostering coordination efforts globally regardless geographic borders-we must strive collectively ensuring protections remain intact throughout upcoming challenges posed within growing industry shift too! Complete form below if interested gaining insights forming such committee local facilities!
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This situation has already been backed by Unifor, which actively supports the transition toward EVs. As Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor has allied itself with pro-war, pro-austerity government policies, advocating for provincial and federal aid packages totaling billions in subsidies aimed at enticing corporate giants like Ford to upgrade their facilities and build new battery plants. In 2020, both the Liberal federal government and Conservative provincial government pledged CAD$590 million in subsidies for Ford’s retooling efforts at Oakville.
Unifor President Lana Payne learned about these extended layoffs during a meeting on Tuesday, April 2 with Ford CEO Jim Farley along with other executives at their Dearborn headquarters. She expressed her “extreme disappointment” regarding this decision but stated that the union would collaborate with management to “lessen the impact” on affected workers and their families.
The contract forced through last year by Payne’s Unifor leadership met substantial resistance from workers-including outright opposition from those working in Oakville-yet it imposes no limits on how long Ford can extend downtime at their plant. Additionally, there are no guarantees regarding “income security” if delays occur aside from vague commitments from management about consulting with union leaders.
After employing undemocratic tactics to get this contract passed-like disregarding internal ratification rules despite skilled trades’ disapproval-Payne and her colleagues arrogantly proclaimed “priorities met, pattern set.” Clearly these priorities served management interests rather than those of frontline workers.
Under current contract terms, laid-off autoworkers will receive only 70 percent of their regular wages through Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB). The duration of payments varies based on seniority; those with twenty years’ experience may receive support for up to two years while newer employees can expect only nine months of SUB assistance. Laid-off staff face extreme uncertainty financially as they await plant operations resumption which may force them into seeking alternative employment or relying on food banks just to survive.
The insecurity facing Oakville workers during-and even after-the lengthy shutdown mirrors experiences reported by employees at GM’s CAMI facility in Ingersoll, Ontario. That plant resumed operations recently after a six-month pause caused by battery shortages during its transition towards all-electric delivery vans; many had relied heavily on food banks while attempting survival under reduced pay conditions throughout this period.
This delay announcement comes shortly after news broke regarding 1,400 layoffs occurring at Ford’s flagship Rouge facility located in Dearborn Michigan where half those who had previously assembled F150 Lightning trucks-their top-selling current EV-will be reassigned while around seven hundred are being forced into early retirement options instead.
The recent job cuts alongside Stellantis’s termination notices issued towards hundreds of supplemental employees have further exposed how misleading UAW President Shawn Fain’s assertive rhetoric surrounding “record contracts.” The UAW staged a strike against Detroit Three automakers last year but failed miserably when it came down stopping production or significantly impacting corporate earnings overall.
The latest actions taken by Detroit Three firms across North America lay bare profound weaknesses inherent within both Unifor’s Nationalist approach as well as UAW strategies employed thus far-all together they only serve corporate interests ultimately benefiting executive teams who retain full freedom over adjusting levels & scaling back output whenever desired without facing repercussions whatsoever due directly stemming union bureaucracy connections forged over time between themselves & managing officials/governments alike! To defend jobs amid ongoing transitions necessitates embracing new approaches via rank-and-file committees empowering actual shop floor personnel instead! Through International Workers Alliance fostering coordination efforts globally regardless geographic borders-we must strive collectively ensuring protections remain intact throughout upcoming challenges posed within growing industry shift too! Complete form below if interested gaining insights forming such committee local facilities!
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