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Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares didn’t come bearing any gifts in the form of new product announcements for the Windsor Assembly Plant, but Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy said he left a positive impression that the plant remains a key component in the company’s plans.
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Tavares’s visit Wednesday was his first visit to Windsor as he concluded a tour of the company’s Ontario operations this week.
“He understands the commitment the company made in the last round of bargaining,” said Cassidy, who met with Tavares for over an hour. “It was a good meeting.
“He wanted to meet the people, see how we do business here and how he wants us to do business. He was clear about what his expectations of him are for the next five to 10 years.
Tavares toured the plant, met workers on the production line and held a town hall meeting with the plant’s management.
Cassidy said Tavares offered no timeline on when the company would announce new products for the plant.
Much of the talk with Tavares focused on the bigger picture rather than on local issues.
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“He said the Windsor Assembly Plant is very important and the Canadian operations are very important to them,” Cassidy said. “He loves the minivan.”
One of the local issues to get an airing was saving the second shift. Cassidy said Tavares was given a briefing on the talks to date.
“We did discuss the second shift on a higher level, but that’s something that will be decided at a lower level than Mr. Tavares,” Cassidy said. “He empowers people.
“We talked more about electrification, investment in new product and the workforce being the best in the business. We reminded them of the cost advantages of Canada as well.”
Tavares also talked at length about the company’s European plants as examples of what to expect. Stellantis’s European operations are much further down the electrification road than in North America.
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“I think the most important thing was I was able to get my point across,” Cassidy said.
“He and his executive team heard from Windsor’s biggest cheerleader and they understood it and how good a workforce we have.”
In addition to meeting with company and automotive officials during his Ontario visit this week, Cassidy said Tavares also met with government representatives including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Not surprisingly, much of the talk centered around the company’s transformation to electric vehicles.
“There was talk about the American EV rebates,” Cassidy said.
“The federal government has told him they will meet or beat the US rebates. He’s comfortable with that.”
Cassidy said Tavares reiterated his point that (government) authorities are dictating the pathway to electrification and the challenges that it presents to automakers.
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“He’s concerned the authorities are making decisions for us,” Cassidy said.
“He said we’ll have to do our due diligence because we’re going to be a big player (in electrification) moving forward.”
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Aside from the usual concerns over controlling costs and improving efficiency at the plant, Tavares outlined to Windsor officials how the company will measure success.
Cassidy said Stellantis will use a different matrix than the World Class Manufacturing system the company now uses.
“That system is changing to something that’s not as complex,” Cassidy said. “It’s always about bringing down costs, quality delivery.
“He sees the quality of the work we do, but there’s always room for improvement in the way you do stuff.”
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