Protesters with trucks and other vehicles decorated with signs and Canadian flags gather near Ambassador Bridge on February 9 in Windsor, Canada. The bridge is the busiest land border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume.
Image of Matthew Hatcher / Getty
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Protesters with trucks and other vehicles decorated with signs and Canadian flags gather near Ambassador Bridge on February 9 in Windsor, Canada. The bridge is the busiest land border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume.
Image of Matthew Hatcher / Getty
The auto industry has already struggled to keep factory lines running thanks to shortages of semiconductors and other parts. And now, massive protests in Canada over medical mandates are threatening to inflict more pain on production lines.
Automakers have had to cancel more shifts as Canada’s protests shut traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, a key transportation route. The bridge connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, is the busiest overland border road in North America in terms of trade volume.
General Motors has canceled two shifts at its Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan due to a shortage of parts, while Ford is operating its plants in the Canadian cities of Windsor and Oakville at “reduced capacity.”
Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Ram and Jeep, said it has reduced shifts at plants on both sides of the border.
Toyota said it expected “disruption throughout the week” at its plants in Canada, which have been affected by the bridge blockade. At this time, no jobs will be affected, a spokesman said.
The company noted that other supply chain issues, extreme weather and “COVID-related challenges” are also hampering manufacturing operations across North America.
Canadian car wokers are also beginning to be affected.
For nearly two weeks, protesters in trucks and other vehicles have blocked the streets of Canada’s capital to protest public health measures related to the pandemic and voice their grievances against the government. Canadian government.
The “Freedom Convoy” then spread to other cities, including Windsor, across the border from Detroit. The blockade of the bridge began on Monday.
Right now, traffic is pouring from Canada into the US, but trucks can’t cross the bridge from Detroit into Canada. As a result, factories in Canada are feeling harder hit from the lockdown.
A line of trucks waits for the road to the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor, Ontario, which reopened on February 8 after protesters blocked the road on Monday.
Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images
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Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images
A line of trucks waits for the road to the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor, Ontario, which reopened on February 8 after protesters blocked the road on Monday.
Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images
Shane Wark, assistant to the national president of Unifor (the union that represents many Canadian auto workers), describes the situation as “flexible and changes by the hour” and said there are currently waves of layoffs. Short term is affecting some members.
“These blockades are creating additional hardship for Unifor members and their families in the automotive sector, after two years of unusual disruptions in production and supply chains that must end immediately,” he said. ie,” he said.
Automakers fear protracted protests in Canada
Meanwhile, in the US, the impact on workers is “minimal” at this time, a United Auto worker spokesperson told NPR.
But automakers warn that prolonged bridge shutdowns could have bigger consequences. The North American auto industry depends on a complex network of suppliers, and some parts travel across borders many times before being fitted to a vehicle.
Jodi Tinson, a spokesperson for Stellantis, said: “The situation at Ambassador Bridge, combined with an already fragile supply chain, will add to the hardship for people and industries still struggling to recover. recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. “We hope to be able to reach a solution soon so that our factories and employees can return to normal operations.”
A Ford spokesman said the bridge closure “has harmed customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities, and companies on both sides of the border that have spent two years running short of parts due to the problem.” global semiconductor issues, COVID and more”, and called for a quick resolution.
Brian Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Association of Vehicle Manufacturers, is more blunt.
“It is time for governments at all levels to enforce their laws, end blockades and restore cross-border commerce,” he said in a statement.
