After 17 years of operation, a London, Ontario autoparts maker has announced it will be laying off the majority of its workforce by the end of 2023..Brose North America, announced Thursday it will eliminate more than 300 positions, as it moves seat production lines to facilities in other locations. Workers were informed of the layoffs on Thursday morning.."In North America, order losses and significantly lower production volumes have created overcapacity in several of our plants, leading to high structural costs," said Wilm Uhlenbecker, president of Brose North America.."In addition, auto manufacturers are further increasing pressure on prices and requiring suppliers to shift production to lower cost countries. This was not an easy decision but cost priorities, parts shortages, lowered production volumes and other market turbulence have made competitive manufacturing at our London location impossible.".The company said for employees, options will include continued employment at other locations in North America for eligible employees or "assistance with career reorientation.".The 17,500 square-metre facility employs more than 400 people, producing components for Chrysler, Ford and Volkswagen. The company laid off approximately 100 workers in 2019 in response to changes in the auto market and changing customer needs..The layoffs come as the Ontario attempts to position itself as a leader in electric vehicle manufacturing. The Ontario government has invested over $16 billion over the last two years towards that goal..In early 2021, GM announced plans to transform its CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll in order to produce BrightDrop electric commercial vans, which would make it Canada's first all electric vehicle manufacturing facility..Auto parts company Magna also have plans to open an electric vehicle parts plant in Chatham-Kent, while Windsor is set to open a large-scale electric vehicle battery plant.
