Stellantis will transform its Windsor, Ontario, minivan plant into a one-shift operation beginning in the spring of 2022, the automaker announced late Friday.
The company didn’t say when one of the two remaining shifts will be slashed, but it did blame the ongoing semiconductor shortage and COVID-19 pandemic for the change.
Aside from some shifts run in late May and early June, the Windsor Assembly Plant was down from March 29 to July 5, due to the global microchip shortage. It was then down again from Aug. 16 through Sept. 26, but had been running consistently this fall.
About 4,500 people, the majority of them Unifor members, build the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Chrysler Grand Caravan in Canada, as well as the Chrysler Voyager for the U.S. market.
The cut will affect 1,800 jobs, the company told Automotive News Canada.
“In response to these factors, Stellantis will adjust production operations at its Windsor Assembly Plant (WAP) in Canada,” the company said. “Beginning in the spring of 2022, WAP will transition to a one-shift operation.”
“The company reaffirms its WAP investment commitment outlined in the 2020 Collective Agreement of up to $1.5 billion [Canadian dollars],” or about $1.21 billion.
