The U.S. automaker said the move would add capacity of up to 100,000 additional units and support 1,800 jobs at the plant to be filled by workers represented by Unifor.Ford announced plans last year to spend $1.8 billion to transform the facility into a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing, including vehicle and battery pack assembly. But after planning to start EV production at the plant in 2025, the company said in April it was pushing that back to 2027 to give the consumer market more time to develop and allow for further development of EV battery technology.Ford said some employees would remain on site during the plant transformation but there would be layoffs, noting it would work with Unifor to mitigate the effect of the delay on its workforce.Bringing production of Super Duty pickups to the Canadian plant means some employees will return to work a year earlier than expected, the company said Thursday.“Super Duty is a vital tool for businesses and people around the world and, even with our Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant running flat out, we can’t meet the demand,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley in a press release.“At the same time, we look forward to introducing three-row electric utility vehicles, leveraging our experience in three-row utility vehicles and our learnings as America’s No. 2 electric vehicle brand to deliver fantastic, profitable vehicles.”The 1,800 positions are 400 more than would initially have been needed to produce the three-row electric vehicle following the plant’s overhaul, the company said.“This is the best plan for Ford, and for the Oakville area and Ontario, in general,” said Sam Fiorani, vice-president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, in an interview.If the automaker had not reinvested in the plant, he added: “The potential for closure is there and getting Ford to come back to Oakville would be very difficult as many of the plants that have closed have simply disappeared from the map.”While Canada’s push toward electric vehicles is a great long-term plan, consumer demand is not there yet, said Fiorani.Ford is spending around US$3 billion to expand Super Duty production to Canada, which includes US$2.3 billion to install assembly and integrated stamping operations at the Oakville facility. (ICE TORONTO)

Fonte notizia: https://www.design-engineering.com/