Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said today it is delaying the launch of upcoming electric vehicles at its Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant. Its all-new three-row electric vehicles due in 2025 will not appear until 2027. Employees at Oakville will be laid off. Less than one year ago Ford said it was investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex to make it into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada. The property, renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, was supposed to retool and modernize during Q2 of 2024 to prepare for production of next-generation EVs. At the time, Ford was the first full-line automaker to announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market. Oakville currently builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus and was scheduled to build EV battery packs too. The conversion plan included large Canadian taxpayer subsidies. Ford Edge production at Oakville is scheduled to end in approximately one month. (AutoInformed on: Ford Oakville Assembly in Canada to Convert to EVs)
“Unifor is extremely disappointed by the company’s decision. Our members have done nothing but build best-in-class vehicles for Ford Motor and they deserve certainty in the company’s future production plans,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne. “I want to be very clear here. Our members can be assured that we will push the company to explore every single possible opportunity to lessen the impact of this decision on them and their families.” Given the magnitude of the delay Unifor has requested a meeting with Ford to be held as soon as possible to discuss job and income security measures for workers.” Unifor was informed of the revised timeline during a meeting with Ford executives earlier this week. Continue reading
Mercedes-Benz Alabama Workers Ask NLRB for Union Vote
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The UAW said today that a super-majority of Mercedes-Benz workers have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a vote to join the progressive union help create and sustain the American middle class. With more than 5000 workers at the Mercedes plant outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this is the second group of Southern autoworkers to call for a union election. They want it before May or in less than three weeks. Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., filed their election in mid-March and will have their vote to join the UAW April 17-19. Mercedes management is running an aggressive anti-union campaign, the UAW maintains.*
“We are standing up for every worker in Alabama. At Mercedes, at Hyundai and at hundreds of other companies, Alabama workers have made billions of dollars for executives and shareholders, but we haven’t gotten our fair share. We’re going to turn things around with this vote. We’re going to end the Alabama discount,” said Jeremy Kimbrell, a measurement machine operator at Mercedes. Continue reading →