PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Brothers and Sisters;
On Monday October 28, 2019 Brothers Bob Scott, Chuck Paladino and I were called to the Plant Manager’s office to discuss upcoming scheduling changes Ford Motor Company is implementing at OAC. The Company notified us that due to cost expenses, slowing sales, and the discontinuation of the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT models, the following major scheduled restructuring plans will be administered;
Indefinite Lay-off Notifications:
- The company will notify 450 of our lowest seniority members of indefinite lay-off. The lay-offs will take effect Monday, February 3rd
Temporary Lay-offs
- Production at Oakville Assembly Complex will be suspended resulting in temporary mass lay-offs. Assembly operations will be down from Friday, December, 20th 2019 and resume Monday, January 13th 2020
Production Operations Commencing Monday, January 13th 2020
- The body shop will eliminate the mid-night (C-Shift) in Body 1, 2 & 3
- Final Assembly will reduce line speeds to 52 jobs per hour
Note: Skilled Trades will not be affected by the company’s restructuring, at this time.
Our Local In-Plant Committee is extremely frustrated and disappointed, as we were having ongoing discussions with The Company for the past several months trying to persuade them to consider alternatives to this decision. However today, The Company has once again indicated that this is a business decision and they will be moving forward.
I realize this announcement will cause great concern for the entire Local 707 membership and their families. It will have a serious impact on us all in the coming months. It’s never a good time for lay-off notifications but when it happens around the holiday season it makes it that much more troubling
The Local leadership will continue to make every effort to lessen the impact of this decision. I know the membership will have many questions about this announcement and as such we will keep you abreast of information as it unfolds.
In Solidarity
Dave Thomas
President Unifor Local 707
