Stellantis Cancels Plans To Eliminate Second-Shift At Windsor Assembly!

Stellantis has announced that it is eliminating its plans to cancel the second shift at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario. The news comes just days before the Christmas holiday, after more than a year of uncertainty for the 1,800 second-shift employees of the facility in charge of building the company’s trio of minivan offerings (Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Grand Caravan, and Chrysler Voyager).

“Today was great news,” Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy said about the decision. “I was notified late [Tuesday] morning that they’re rescinding the letter to eliminate the second shift. We knew we had an extension. We didn’t know for how long. But they notified us that they will no longer be reducing the second shift, which is great news. It’s a great Christmas present for all of us. People have been on edge for a long time.”

“They need the people,” stated Cassidy. “The fact of the matter is we have a great product. We have problems with our supply chain that continues to be a burden on us, and so every time you turn around – we’ve been down about 18 weeks this year. It’s been really tough on everybody being down that many weeks. They need these vehicles. I think that’s the biggest issue why, prior to us going down for the retooling.”

In May, Stellantis announced that it would be investing $3.6 billion CAD ($2.8 billion USD) in both of its Canadian assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton to support its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. Beginning in 2023, the Windsor facility will be retooled to support the production of a new multi-energy vehicle (MEV) architecture that will provide battery-electric (BEV) capability for multiple models. This will allow maximum flexibility to adjust production volumes to meet changing market demand over the next decade. Once the transformation is complete, the plant is expected to return to a three-shift operation.

Those new vehicles have yet to be confirmed by the automaker, other than they will be based on the company’s new STLA Large unibody architecture. Our sources have told us that two of the new vehicles will be the next-gen Dodge Challenger (LB) and Charger (LF) muscle cars. A third vehicle, the upcoming D-segment Chrysler Airflow (CA) crossover, could also be added to Windsor’s portfolio.

Windsor will continue to produce the current-gen minivans alongside the new electrified lineup. It is unsure if the next-gen minivans will be produced there or elsewhere in North America, but that isn’t expected to happen until 2027, according to Chrysler’s future electrification plans.

The decision to keep the plant at two shifts was confirmed by Stellantis spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin on Tuesday. She simply stated “will continue to operate on two shifts,” but, did not give a reason behind the reversal decision.

The reversal decision comes just days after the automaker announced that it would be shutting down production at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois at the end of February. That plant currently produces the midsized Jeep Cherokee. Stellanits claims the global semiconductor supply chain shortage and the costs of electrification for the decision.