In the wake of Ford Motor Co.’s decision to pump the brakes on plans to launch a Canadian-made electric SUV next year, the head of Canada’s biggest auto workers union says they’re going to leave no stone unturned in their quest to mitigate the impact on employees.
Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Friday that she was informed of Ford’s plans to delay the launch on Tuesday this week, only a day before it became public, but admitted the news didn’t come as a complete surprise.
“There had been a lot of rumours on the shop floor,” she said. “Chatter that there could be some challenges here.”
Canadian impact
The vehicle was set to be manufactured at the company’s Oakville, Ont. assembly plant, so this week’s development has thrown the future of the 3,200 people who work at the plant, along with another 2,000 along the supply chain, into uncertainty.
“All of their futures now are up in the air,” Payne said.
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The union has already started discussions with Ford on mitigating and lessening the impact on members and autoworkers in Canada. Even though the solution won’t come overnight, Payne saw signals Ford was willing to work something out.
“Every rock needs to be [turned],” she said, adding that the union she leads is determined “to push and to press the company here in any way that we can.”
Future for EVs
Payne said she thinks demand for electric vehicles will continue to grow, but as with any transition as massive as the current one underway, “major bumps” are to be expected.
“The reality is this is going to be a big part of the auto industry of the future and Canada needs to be in the game,” she said.
Payne added she’s pleased with the tone of her discussions with the company on the subject so far, and says she sees signals that they are going to work with the union to mitigate the impact on workers as much as possible.
“This is not going to be figured out overnight,” she said.
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