Ford Motor has plans of laying off nearly two hundred employees in September from its Canada-based manufacturing plant located in “Oakville, Ontario”, while there is a possibility that more such lay off may take place in the coming month of January. The “Oakville plant” has around “4,600 workers” working for Ford Company.
In a note to members, the Unifor Local 707’s President in Oakville, Ontario, Dave Thomas informed:
“We have been arguing as a local for the past several weeks trying to persuade the company from somehow avoiding this scenario, but to no avail”.
As per the initial estimates of the union president, the layoffs were around hundred and eighty five and he added:
“As always, it’s based on a business decision and it all comes down to dollars and cents”.
The reason cited by Ford behind this lay off was the reducing sales of “Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT”, as both of them are manufactured at the above mentioned plant. Yet another cause of Oakville layoff was that some of the European markets no longer sell the “Ford Edge”. In the words of the Manufacturing and Labour Communication Manager at Ford, Kelli Felker:
“We have a longstanding practice of matching production with consumer demand”.
From August 1, 2019, the Ontario plant will slow down on its production as it will cut down on one shift and will also reduce hours, revealed Thomas. However, the provincial government of Ontario seems to be disappointed on learning the news of layoff, as the spokesperson of Minister of Economic Development, Ontario, Robert Gibson wrote in an email to Reuters:
“We want the employees in Oakville to know that our government stands with them and their families. We will work with our partners to continue to fight for good jobs in Oakville and support the affected families.”
In the month of May, however, Ford had made an announcement to reduce ten percent of its “its global white-collar workforce” which would claim nearly seven thousand jobs. Furthermore, the company also has plans of slashing down twelve thousand European jobs by the year of 2020.
The auto sales figures in Canada for June fell by “7.2%” from its previous year’s respective figures.
References:
reuters.com
In a note to members, the Unifor Local 707’s President in Oakville, Ontario, Dave Thomas informed:
“We have been arguing as a local for the past several weeks trying to persuade the company from somehow avoiding this scenario, but to no avail”.
As per the initial estimates of the union president, the layoffs were around hundred and eighty five and he added:
“As always, it’s based on a business decision and it all comes down to dollars and cents”.
The reason cited by Ford behind this lay off was the reducing sales of “Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT”, as both of them are manufactured at the above mentioned plant. Yet another cause of Oakville layoff was that some of the European markets no longer sell the “Ford Edge”. In the words of the Manufacturing and Labour Communication Manager at Ford, Kelli Felker:
“We have a longstanding practice of matching production with consumer demand”.
From August 1, 2019, the Ontario plant will slow down on its production as it will cut down on one shift and will also reduce hours, revealed Thomas. However, the provincial government of Ontario seems to be disappointed on learning the news of layoff, as the spokesperson of Minister of Economic Development, Ontario, Robert Gibson wrote in an email to Reuters:
“We want the employees in Oakville to know that our government stands with them and their families. We will work with our partners to continue to fight for good jobs in Oakville and support the affected families.”
In the month of May, however, Ford had made an announcement to reduce ten percent of its “its global white-collar workforce” which would claim nearly seven thousand jobs. Furthermore, the company also has plans of slashing down twelve thousand European jobs by the year of 2020.
The auto sales figures in Canada for June fell by “7.2%” from its previous year’s respective figures.
References:
reuters.com
