The national president of Unifor is asking "what's next" following the planned elimination of the third shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant.
Fiat Chrysler announced Thursday that the shift will end September 30th to better align production of the Pacifica with global demand.
The move will impact about 1,500 workers at the plant.
Jerry Dias told AM800's The Morning Drive, the announcement caught the union off-guard.
He points out that Chrysler invested well-over a billion dollars in the Windsor facility just a few years ago. The automaker invested $2.6-billion dollars in the Windsor operation to produce the Chrysler Pacifica, which was officially launched in May of 2016.
Dias says the big question now is, what's next?
"We're reaching out to senior Fiat Chrysler leadership. I expect a meeting in the next few days to find what the plan is, because clearly there has to be another vehicle in that operation to supplement the Pacifica," says Dias.
(Image courtesy of CTV News)
At the time of the Pacifica launch in May of 2016, Dias said there was no question the vehicle would keep the plant running on three shifts.
"Fiat Chrysler has invested over $2-billion in this program. So that shows that they know we build a world-class vehicle, but it also show's their going to get a return on their investment," Dias said nearly three years ago.
He says there shouldn't be any concern about the future of the plant because Chrysler is completely committed to its footprint.
"This reduction is the result of sales, period. Sales in Canada dropped between four and five per cent already this year," says Dias. "We knew there was going to be a softening of the market. Analysts expected it would be two to three per cent, so this is a little worse than anybody anticipated."
Workers outside the plant on Friday spoke to CTV Windsor and most described the mood as sombre.
Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains was in Windsor Friday and offered support to local workers following the announcement