Auto shifts shortened, cancelled in Windsor-Essex after fire at parts factory

A fire last week at an auto parts factory near Lansing is having an effect on production at the minivan assembly plant in Windsor and an engine plant in Essex.

Both local Uniforpresidents said it's a temporary changeas they continue to evaluate the fire's impact on local production.

Essex Engine Plant

"Kansas City Truck who we send our engines to have components that they received from Meridian who caught fire and what's happened is we have Thursday and Friday down, as of right now," said Unifor200 presidentJohn D'Angelo.

He said the Monday shift will go ahead as scheduled. There are 700 employees at the plant but D'Angelo is not sure the exact number of people who will have shifts changed.

D'Angelo said that the parts manufacturer is sending tooling to other facilities to continue production, including one in Strathroy.

"They're going to get that tooling there and try to get things running as quickly as possible," said D'Angelo.

Windsor Assembly Plant

UniforLocal 444 president James Stewart saidthe shifts of his members are being shortened.

He saidit's a temporary move, and there is no set amount of time each shift is running.

Stewart saidFiat Chrysler is doing an assessment of each shift based on the availability of parts.

Two people were hurt in the fire at Meridian Magnesium Products in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.

The fire was set off by an explosion in the plant.

The incident has reportedly affected production at a number of other assembly plants, including some run by Ford and Mercedes.

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