According to an address issued by the Unifor Local 707 trade union to dealerships in Canada, Ford will be stopping Edge production in Oakville on April 26. Declining sales and impending electrification are quoted among the main reasons.
The Edge SUV debuted in 2006 and had initially enjoyed fairly brisk sales – around 130,000 units every year. The customers’ interest has declined during the Covid pandemic and never recovered, though.
Aside from getting rid of a poor seller, Ford needs more EV production capacities in Canada – that’s another reason for freeing up the assembly lines in Oakville. The automaker’s strategy envisions mass-producing five new electric car models at that factory in 2025–2028.
The retrofitting of the industrial complex is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of the current year – in other words, it should begin as soon as the last Edge rolls off the line. The required investment is estimated at $1.5 billion.
The trade union points out that it is unaware of any impending staff cuts connected with the factory retrofit; it remains to be seen how Ford decides to proceed.
