An assembly line worker at the General Motors Assembly plant in Oshawa works on a car on Friday, December 16, 2011.Chris Young / The Canadian Press Workers who are losing their jobs at GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario could receive retirement packages that reach as high as $150,000, along with a $10,000 voucher against the purchase of a new car. The plant’s closure will send some 2,600 assembly line workers out the door when the Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac XTS and last-generation full-size pickup trucks end production later this year. GM recently announced it is investing $170 million into the plant to stamp new and aftermarket parts, and to turn a portion of the plant into a test track for autonomous vehicles. The move is expected to save 300 hourly jobs, which could grow to 500 jobs in three years. Unifor Local 222, which represents the workers, outlined the retirement packages. About 1,300 employees will qualify to receive them. The top package of $150,000 is for skilled trades. For other employees with 30 years of credited service, or who are of retirement age, the package will be $130,000. Both packages would include a vehicle voucher. Workers with ten years of service, but who are younger than 50, can accept a $130,000 package and voucher. Those of the appropriate age can instead opt for a three-year layoff and then receive early retirement benefits when they turn 50 years old. The packages for those with less than ten years of service range from $40,000 for those with at least four years, to a payment of $10,000 for those who worked for less than a year. GM also operates two other facilities in Ontario: a powertrain plant in St. Catharines, and a parts centre in Woodstock. Some Oshawa workers with more than five years of experience will be eligible for a $10,000 allowance to relocate to those facilities, and in turn, senior workers at those plants will be offered a $40,000 retirement incentive to open new positions on a one-job-for-one-job
Origin: GM outlines retirement packages for workers at closing Oshawa plant
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This cute autonomous robot doles out car parts at a Ford plant
Survival, the autonomous parts-distributing robot roaming around a Spanish Ford plantFord Robots have been at the center of auto manufacturing for ages, often handling tasks which would otherwise be too tough or time-consuming for humans. Some automakers have even been playing around with robotic exoskeletons, assisting workers in keeping their arms raised for hours at a time. Factory robots, then, are not uncommon. This one, however – ominously called “Survival” – is a bit different. Developed entirely in-house by Ford, it’s a run-around bot tasked with delivering spare parts and welding material to factory workers at a Ford body and stamping plant in Valencia, Spain. Here’s the rub: this thing learned itself how to navigate the building, and can figure out new routes if its chosen path is blocked or unavailable. Its designers programmed Survival to learn the whole floor, which means, when paired with a network of sensors, the robot doesn’t need external guides such as GPS. A quick video posted to the company’s YouTube page reveals a machine that looks not unlike a battered filing cabinet with a searchlight mounted on top of it. Painted a jaunty orange and lined with caution tape, the unit is shown zipping through the factory on its way to dutifully deliver items. Survival has 17 different slots for parts and is smart enough to allow access to only the slot designated for the delivery it is currently handling. It won’t allow a person who needs a rivet to take a ball-peen hammer, for instance, since it knows the worker at Station #2 only needs access to the rivets. This cuts down on erroneous deliveries and other headaches caused by humans not using stuff correctly, as is their wont. Reports from the plant say Survival has been on trial for almost a year and has worked “flawlessly” to date. The gearheads here at Driving would like to welcome out new robot
Origin: This cute autonomous robot doles out car parts at a Ford plant
GM will convert Oshawa plant into autonomous vehicle test track
GM Oshawa Assembly signHandout / GM Canada General Motors will invest $170 million converting the Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant it’d intended to close into a parts production facility and autonomous vehicle test track. GM and labour union Unifor announced May 8 their new agreed-upon plans for the plant. The 60-plus-year-old facility will be transitioned into an parts producer for GM and other auto industry clients; the vehicle assembly stations will go away, and be replaced by machines for stamping aftermarket parts. The facility will also act as hub for autonomous vehicle (AV) testing, and its redevelopment will see the construction of an AV test track. GM says 300 jobs will be retained with the potential to grow and generate significant additional jobs in the coming years. Unfortunately most of the roughly 2,600 hourly workers currently employed in Oshawa assembly will still lose their jobs, though there will be opportunities to move to other GM plants in Ontario. Packages will also be offered to employees who are close to retirement. A Job Action Centre will be established in June to help people find jobs outside of GM once the plant closes in December 2019; the centre is jointly supported by GM, Unifor and the Ontario government. GM is also offering financial support for employees looking to retrain for new jobs. “This transformation plan is very significant as it positions Oshawa for a sustainable future, GM Canada president and managing director Travis Hester said. This agreement maximizes the support for our people and their families, and further secures Oshawa as a key in developing vehicles of the future at our new test track.” That new test track will be used specifically to test autonomous vehicle technology, as well as to expand GM’s technical centre capabilities in Ontario. After ongoing protests and even Super Bowl ads fighting the plant’s closure, it seems like Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, is satisfied with this new resolution. “By maintaining a footprint in Oshawa, and keeping the plant intact, we save hundreds of jobs and this gives us the ability to build and create new jobs in the future, Dias said. We are in a much better position than we were five months ago when the plant was
Origin: GM will convert Oshawa plant into autonomous vehicle test track
FCA confirms a US$355-million investment in Windsor Assembly Plant
A production line worker assembles a Chrysler plant in Windsor, Ont. on January 18, 2011.Geoff Robbins / The Canadian Press FCA Canada officials confirmed their commitment to the Windsor Assembly Plant April 17, informing Unifor officials it will invest US$355 million in the plant for future product in the next 12 months. “There’s no question Fiat Chrysler is committed to Windsor,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias after meeting with Mark Stewart, FCA’s Head of NAFTA Manufacturing, for 90 minutes at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel. “The bottom line is they’re investing for future product. It doesn’t mean it’ll save the third shift, but that’s what we’ll work on now.” It was the first formal sit-down the two sides have held since FCA announced three weeks ago it was eliminating the third shift and 1,500 jobs at the Windsor Assembly Plant as of September 30. The company has blamed softening sales of the Pacifica and Grand Caravan for the decision. In Canada, FCA has only sold 816 Pacificas through the end of March this year. That represents a drop of 59 percent over last year, when Canadians bought 2,012 Pacificas in the first three months of 2018. Caravan sales were up 13 percent last month (3,370 vehicles), but are down nine percent for the year compared to a year ago. FCA has sold 8,206 Caravans this year. In the U.S., Pacifica sales in 2019 are down 29 percent to 23,274 vehicles while the Caravan has declined by 18 percent to 35,4340 minivans. Dias said the conversation was detailed about the future of the plant, but couldn’t divulge what that future product might entail. It’s been heavily rumoured that FCA will introduce an all-wheel version of the Pacifica and revive the Voyager nameplate as a new lower-cost minivan to replace the Caravan. The Caravan is currently due to be phased out after 2020. “Ultimately it’s a good news message today. They know what they want to do, but they’re finalizing a few things,” Dias said. “They want to maximize their investment in Windsor. The Pacifica platform gives them all kinds of
Origin: FCA confirms a US$355-million investment in Windsor Assembly Plant
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