ABOVE: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was one of the speakers at an event Thursday announcing that Ford would be making a massive new investment in it’s Oakville assembly plant
TORONTO – Employees at the Ford assembly plant in Oakville, Ont. will get some good news as the North American automobile giant plans to invest $700 million to expand its manufacturing capabilities.
The company was joined by Industry Minister James Moore, along with the Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Oakville MP Terrence Young, at an announcement Thursday morning.
“This investment is helping us find much needed capacity for global products and securing jobs, and it is positioning Oakville as one of the most competitive and important facilities in the Ford system,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of The Americas, in a media release.
According to a union official, Ford will assemble the next generation of the Edge and MKX crossover utility vehicles that are now produced at the Oakville facility.
Officials say the added investment will secure more than 2,800 jobs.
“Ford’s investment demonstrates Canada can be competitive in the global market through strategic partnerships,” said Dianne Craig, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. “Working closely with government and labour, we have secured a bright future for our employees at Oakville Assembly.”
Last year, the Ford plant’s unionized workers agreed to a new four-year contract that was expected to help create about 600 jobs at the facility, the company’s only production site in Canada.
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