Ford has announced that it will re-open its Essex engine plant in Windsor, Ontario. The plant has been shut down since November of last year, but Ford and the CAW negotiated a “competitive operating agreement” last February that will allow the plant to re-open.
According to Automotive News, the plant re-opening will allow 300 employees to return to work. The CAW will be re-staffing the plant based on seniority.
Ford failed to mention which engine(s) it will be producing at the plant, but Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper speculates that the plant will produce Ford’s next-generation of fuel-efficient V8s.
Ford will invest $165.4 million into the plant, with the Ontario government kicking in another $16.5 million.
With the next round of CAW/Big Three negotiation quickly approaching, it appears as though Ford might have just earned itself a bit of good will.
03/31, 4:54 PM
posted by:
A4
well hey thats a ray of sunshine
03/31, 5:12 PM
posted by:
inspire
That is a welcome sign for Ontario … something like 64,000 manufacturing jobs lost since the dollar’s rise to US parity as well as the resource boom out in western Canada. 300 sounds small to most — but I mean, at least a couple thousand jobs have been lost in Windsor from reductions in automotive manufacturing. And if you think of the spin-off jobs (service industry, sales, etc) lost … something’s better than nothing.
04/01, 2:10 AM
posted by:
zoomzoomr
Ford is actually planning a new V8? I thought they were going to put that TwinForce V6 in all of their big cars? Guess this will be a truck engine plant then. Glad to hear some jobs are coming back to America, even if it isn’t the US.
04/01, 4:41 AM
posted by:
bigp
they are making the ecoboost
04/01, 5:34 AM
posted by:
howsmydriving
It’s a shame Ford sold Jaguar and Aston Martin — think how it would sound if they had “Essex engines” — sounds so royal.