Stellantis says work done by contractor Syncreon moving back into Windsor Assembly Plant

Stellantis says it will be bringing the work currently done by contractor Syncreon back into the Windsor Assembly Plant.

The company is responsible for receiving auto parts and managing their delivery in line with the needs of the plant.

Stellantis confirmed the news in a statement to CBC News.

"As Stellantis transitions to a sustainable, mobility tech company, we continue to review our operations for efficiencies," a Stellantis spokesperson said.

"One of the opportunities we identified involves moving our sequencing and metering operations back into the Windsor Assembly Plant. This will allow us to utilize available space within the plant."

CBC News has reached out to Syncreon, as well as the employees' union, Unifor Local 195, but has not yet heard back.

Employee layoffs

Syncreon employee J.P. LeFave said workers found out at a meeting on Thursday.

"They told us unfortunately Chrysler Stellantis won't need our services come Oct. 31," he said. 

He said that the workforce at the facility has been shrinking and the workers faced 27 weeks of layoffs last year. He said there were hundreds of people laid off. 

"The writing was on the wall. We just didn't think that it was going to be totally closed down," he said.

Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy, who represents workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant, says he wants to work with the companies and Unifor Local 195 to see if the Syncreon workers can be hired at the plant.

"I believe Stellantis has an obligation to these workers as well. We have still people on layoff and our first obligation obviously is to get our people back from layoff, but this would not be the first time that happened."