The maker of Chrysler minivans is extending the second shift at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario beyond 2022, Stellantis NV confirmed on Wednesday.
The second shift now is slated to be cut at the end of June 2023, spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin said in an email. The plant is expected to be retooled starting in 2023 for a new platform to support battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but the exact time hasn’t been shared.
The company in October said it was eliminating the 1,800-person shift as a result of the global microchip shortage and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plant employs 4,123 people, according to Stellantis’ website.
A one-shift operation would be short-lived. Stellantis in May said it will invest $2.8 billion into its Canadian operations for its electric transition, preserving the futures of both Windsor and Brampton assembly plants and creating its first battery lab in North America, as a part of its transition to a sustainable mobility tech company.
The investment will return both Ontario plants to three-shift operations, Stellantis has said. The automaker previously declined to provide a time for completion of the retooling at Windsor. The plant will be able to adjust production volumes as needed to meet changing demand over the next decade, the company has said.
Windsor also will be home to the battery lab, and Stellantis has partnered with LG Energy Solution for a $4.1 billion joint-venture battery assembly plant in the city under the name NextStar Energy.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
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