Ford Motor Co. is delaying the start of electric vehicle production at its Oakville, Ontario, plant by two years.
The U. S. automaker had planned to start production at its Canadian plant, which employs 2,700 people, in 2025 and is pushing back that deadline to 2027.
Ford last year announced plans to spend $1. 8 billion on its Oakville assembly plant and turn it into a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing, adding vehicle assembly and batteries.
Renovation work on the plant will begin as planned in the second quarter of this year, but the launch of the new three-row electric vehicles to be produced at the plant will not occur until 2027.
The delay will give the consumer market more time to grow, the company said, and allow for further growth in battery technology for electric vehicles.
Ford spokesman Said Deep said Thursday that some workers would remain at the site while the plant was transformed, but that there would be layoffs.
The company said it would work with Unifor, which represents the plant’s staff, to mitigate the effect of the delay on its workforce.
“We appreciate our Canadian teammates and sense that this delay will have an effect on this wonderful team,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.
“We are fully committed to production in Canada and this move will help us build a successful long-term expansion business. “
Oakville includes three framing workshops, a painting building, and a meeting building.
Ford said planned adjustments in the future come with a new battery plant where staff will gather portions produced at Ford’s U. S. operations. In the U. S. , they will be installed in cars assembled in onArray.
The company’s spending plans were first announced in 2020 as part of union negotiations, with long-term production commitments for staff. The three Detroit-based automakers eventually agreed to invest in Canadian operations in accordance with spending agreements with the federal and Ontario governments.
The two governments have each agreed to contribute $295 million to secure Ford’s investment.
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