The Ford Windsor Engine Plant is about to go on a major hiring spree.
Unifor Local 200 President John D'Angelo, who represents about 1,700 members at the plant, confirmed the company is adding a third shift at the facility, possibly this February.
"With the challenges we have right now with the supply chain, you never know," he told WindsorNewsToday.ca. "Every week we're dealing with it, but February is supposed to be ramping up."
The new shift will build the new 6.8 litre engine for Super Duty trucks.
"We had negotiated back in 2020 the 6.8 program," D'Angelo explained. "We have the Godzilla, which is the 7.3. Now, we have what they call the Baby Godzilla, which is the 6.8."
He's unsure how many people will be hired for that shift. Ford is conducting a study to see how many it will need and D'Angelo said the number could fluctuate between now and when the study is complete.
"But, there will be quite a few people that will be hired for his engine," he added.
Ford hasn't gone on many hiring sprees for the Windsor Engine Plant over the past two decades, although some people were brought on board last spring. The last time Ford anticipated hiring this many was in the mid-1990s, and many of those workers could retire in the next few years.
"It's exciting that we will have this transition of the new hires coming in. In the near future, you're going to be seeing more and more people getting hired as members decide to retire," D'Angelo said.