Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , Premier Kathleen Wynne, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Unifor President Jerry Dias at the Essex Engine Plant announcement, March 30, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , Premier Kathleen Wynne, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Unifor President Jerry Dias at the Essex Engine Plant announcement, March 30, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Windsor

Major Investment Announced At Essex Engine Plant

Ford officials, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced a $1.2-billion investment in Ford Canada on Thursday.

Around $600-million of the investment will stay in Windsor to help retool the Essex Engine plant for a new global engine program.

Joe Hinrichs, president of the Americas for Ford Motor Company, said they cannot release the details of the program or how many jobs it will create.

"For competitive reasons it's too early to talk about. We talked about it as a global engine that will go into a vehicle we sell globally, but we haven't talked about what program. We'll have more to say as we get closer," said Hinrichs.

The new engine program will be launched over the next five years.

Another $100-million will be spent at the plant in Oakville. The remaining money will be spent on Research and Development, most of which takes place in Ottawa although there are facilities in Windsor and Oakville which will also benefit from the funds. The $500-million in R&D funding will support the creation of around 300 new jobs in Ottawa.

Both the federal and provincial governments committed $102-million to support the investment from Ford.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces support for Ford Canada, march 31, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces support for Ford Canada, march 31, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)

"I'm extraordinarily happy to be here to support the great work being done by Ford and to signal that our government is committed to helping our most competitive industries get ahead," said Trudeau.

Chris Taylor with Unifor Local 200 said the investment gives security to the employees in Windsor, something they haven't felt in quite some time.

"There are jurisdictions all over the world that wait for this type of investment and for us to be able to land that here in Windsor, with the government coming in fully understanding that it's going to take a commitment from them to make sure that happened, I think sends a proper message not only to our members and what we did in bargaining but certainly to the corporations," said Taylor.

Taylor expects to be able to call back the nearly 300 workers currently on layoff from the Ford plants in Windsor and possibly more.

Trudeau said it's great to see the economy rebounding and jobs returning to Windsor.

"Windsor has had a few difficult years. We can see, we can feel it, things are really starting to pick back up. You guys are tough, there's no doubt about it and because of that classic Windsor resilience this community is prospering again," said Trudeau.

Trudeau said this was an emotional day for him because his father was on hand in 1978 to break ground at the Essex Engine Plant where the announcement was made today. He said he is honoured to continue the commitment to the industry and the plant.

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