Ford adding 1,000 jobs at Oakville, Ont., assembly plant
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Automaker boosting employment at Oakville Assembly plant as it gears up to build redesigned Ford Edge crossover
The redesigned 2015 Ford Edge will be built at Ford’s plant in Oakville, Ont., for markets around the world. PHOTO Ford
OAKVILLE, Ont.—Ford Motor Co. of Canada, Ltd. plans to add 1,000 jobs at its assembly plants in Oakville, Ont., as it gets set to build the second generation of the popular Ford Edge crossover.
News of the new jobs at the plant west of Toronto comes after Ford announced in February that Oakville Assembly would build the 2015 Edge for markets around the world.
Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement the redesigned crossover “will show countries around the world Canadian quality at its best.”
Up until now, the Edge has not been available in the Western European market.
“To see the transformation of Oakville Assembly into a global facility is incredible,” plant manager Will Cowell said in a statement. “We’re building on our strong team to support greater complexities in our systems, processes and technologies.”
Last year, Ford announced it was investing $700 million to convert the more than 60-year-old plant to “an advanced global manufacturing facility” capable of building vehicles on shared platforms to cut costs.
“Investment in auto manufacturing pays off, and Oakville Assembly is proof of that,” Ford of Canada president and chief executive Dianne Craig said. “Not only is the investment helping us meet much-needed capacity for high demand products produced in Canada, it’s creating jobs.”
The plant in Oakville is home to the current generation Edge, as well as the Lincoln MKX—essentially a rebadged Edge—and the larger Lincoln MKT crossover.
Ford said the second-gen Edge will be exported to more than 100 countries around the world.
The new jobs will bring total employment at the plant to more than 4,000 by year-end, the automaker said.
