Some employees at Stellantis' Windsor Assembly Plant have gotten good news.
Unifor Local 444, which represents hourly workers at the plant, announced that it had been in contact with the automaker, which informed the union that the second shift has been extended until at least the end of 2022.
Local 444 president Dave Cassidy made the announcement Thursday evening via a video tweet.
https://twitter.com/LOCAL444UNIFOR/status/1519816754796670976
"We're going to keep working on that moving forward, but great news today," said Cassidy.
About 1,500 employees are affected.
This is the second time that the second shift has been given a reprieve. Originally due to end on April 17, the shift was first extended to late June. Stellantis had decided to bring WAP to a one-shift operation due to an ongoing global shortage of semiconductors. The lack of production, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in the automaker's decision.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, however, announced in October 2021 that the provincial government was working with Stellantis to bring a $1.5-billion investment to Windsor, which would eventually return WAP to a three-shift operation.
Stellantis Canada spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin confirmed to WindsorNewsToday.ca Thursday evening that the shift was extended.