Ford Motor Co. is delaying the beginning of electrical car manufacturing at its plant in Oakville, Ont., by two years.
The U.S. automaker had deliberate to begin manufacturing on the Canadian plant, which employs 2,700 employees, in 2025 and is pushing that again to 2027.
Ford introduced plans final 12 months to spend $1.8 billion to remodel its Oakville meeting plant right into a hub for electrical car manufacturing together with car and battery pack meeting.
It says work to overtake of plant will start within the second quarter of this 12 months as deliberate, however the launch of the brand new three-row electrical automobiles to be produced on the manufacturing facility will not occur till 2027.
The delay will give the buyer market extra time to develop, the corporate stated, and permit for additional improvement of EV battery know-how.
Ford spokesperson Mentioned Deep stated Thursday some workers will stay on website throughout the plant transformation however there shall be layoffs.
The corporate stated it would work with Unifor, which represents employees on the plant, to mitigate the affect the delay may have on its workforce.
“We worth our Canadian teammates and respect that this delay will have an effect on this glorious group,” Ford president and CEO Jim Farley stated in a press release.
“We’re absolutely dedicated to manufacturing in Canada and consider this choice will assist us construct a profitably rising enterprise for the long run.”
The Oakville website contains three physique retailers, one paint constructing, one meeting constructing.
Ford has stated the deliberate modifications on the website embrace a brand new battery plant the place employees will assemble elements produced at Ford’s U.S. operations into battery packs that may then be put in in automobiles assembled on-site.
The corporate’s spending plans have been first introduced in 2020 as a part of union negotiations, with employees in search of long-term manufacturing commitments. The Detroit Three automakers ultimately agreed to put money into Canadian operations in live performance with spending agreements with the Ontario and federal governments.
The 2 governments agreed to offer $295 million every in funding to safe the Ford funding.
