Workers at the Ford engine plants in Windsor-Essex may not be back on the job by April 20, after all.
The company has announced it is delaying the restart of its North American plants indefinitely to protect its workers from the spread of COVID-19.
"The health and safety of our workforce, dealers, customers, partners, and communities remains our highest priority," said Kumar Galhotra, the president of Ford's North American operations. "We are working very closely with our union leaders -- to develop additional health and safety procedures aimed at keeping our workforce safe and healthy."
The move comes after the death of two Ford workers in Michigan. At Fiat Chrysler, another four workers at plants in Michigan and Indiana have passed away.
Unifor Local 200 President John D'Agnolo is advising his members at Windsor Engine and Essex Engine to keep an eye on social media for the latest.
"There's a lot of unknowns right now. So, until we get the call, then we'll get the information out to the membership," he said. "We're having meetings quite often throughout the week."
D'Agnolo said the company had done a deep clean of the plants in Windsor-Essex.
"They're going to put in all the measures they can," he said.
BlackburnNews.com has reached out to Unifor Local 444, which represents workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant, to see if Fiat Chrysler is considering delaying production as well.