fiat chrysler beefs up its windsor plant,
‘Good-news story’ for city and for Chrysler
The hiring spree at FCA Canada’s Windsor Assembly Plant will exceed 600, chief executive Reid Bigland said last Friday.
“That is a very conservative estimate,” Bigland said following a donation presentation to the United Way. “It’s a good- news story for Windsor, for Chrysler and the plant, for sure.”
The company has s aid additional hiring, which started over the summer, is needed to help the Windsor Assembly Plant launch Chrysler’s Town & Country-replacing minivan, which will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.
Bigland would not disclose the total number of new hires, but a source familiar with the company’s plans said it could exceed 1,000. The source said the two minivans require separate manufacturing processes, such as body shops: “You have different body styles so you will need more people to keep the lines running.”
Production of the new van, which will also come in a plug- in hybrid version, is set to begin during the first quarter of 2016.
FCA also plans to continue production of the lower-priced Dodge Grand Caravan at least through to 2017.
FCA spent more than $ 2 billion on the new minivan program, which included a three- month retooling earlier this year at the plant.
“Everything is on track,” said Bigland. “It’s gone very well.”
He said more details about the additional jobs and chan- ges at the plant will be released closer to the Detroit auto show, which kicks off Jan. 11.
“We’ll get into more details about the van, the impact on the community and what’s going on at the plant,” said Bigland.
The plant now employs more than 4,500 hourly workers who build about 1,400 minivans a day on three full shifts. While Bigland talked up the new minivan, he was tight-lipped about any details.
“You’re going to have to wait until the Detroit auto show, but it’s going to be an exciting day and that’s when we’re finally going to take the wraps off of our all- new mini- van, and we’re really looking forward to showing the public what we’ve been working on the last couple of years.”
For the first time in its history, the automaker is poised to be the top- selling vehicle manufacturer in Canada, a title long held by Ford. Heading into the final month of the year, FCA is 12,000 vehicles ahead of secondplace Ford, said Bigland, who cautioned his employees not to become “complacent.”
“All of us here,” he said, “are making history.”
Bigland also weighed in on the debate over the TransPacific Partnership agreement’s impact on the coun- try’s auto industry.
“I’m concerned, very concerned,” he said, echoing industry demands for parity with the United States when it comes to the time frame for dropping import tariffs on Japanese vehicles.
Canada agreed to drop the 6.1 per cent duty over five years, while the U. S. secured a 25- year schedule for passenger cars and 30 years for trucks.
The disparity “is very concerning from a Chrysler Canada perspective and the impact it has on our manufacturing footprint and on our manufacturing employees,” he said.
Unifor Local 444 president Dino Chiodo went further, calling the TPP “destructive.”
Chiodo said it could turn into a “wrecking ball,” threatening thousands of goodpaying jobs in facilities like the Windsor Assembly Plant.
Bigland said he was pleased the new Liberal government is consulting with industry before it determines whether to s upport t he 12- country deal.
“We need to give the new government time to assess the agreement,” he said. “I’m happy the Liberal government has elected to reach out and get input from the auto industry.”