It has been winding down operations for a few months now, but CTV News has learned the Accuride manufacturing plant on Firestone Boulevard in east London is on its last days.
“That’s the end of it, which is unfortunate. That’s a pretty historic, I don’t know. It’s a landmark to London in a way, I think, right,” commented Unifor Local 27 President Brian Chapman.
According to Chapman, about 150 unionized workers at the plant will be out of jobs as of Jan. 31, while the remaining 20 workers will be finished by mid-February. He said while it’s an unfortunate turn of events, the manufacturer of steel wheels for light duty trucks lasted longer than many expected.
“2018 was really supposed to be the date that it closed. And then they were able to get more business, and things kind of turned around, somewhat. But if you look at it in that light, I guess it was fortunate that it got another, what, six years out of it, right? Out of that plant,” said Chapman.
The plant has been in operation since 1968. Chapman said at its manufacturing peak, as many as 800 people worked at the site.
Accuride is currently owned by private equity group Crestview Partners. The auto parts maker slipped into bankruptcy protection in the United States, and Crestview announced last fall it was seeking a buyer for the Canadian operation.
London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis said more recently, economic uncertainty created by the Trump administration has made the situation even worse.
“And when you’ve got these threats of 25 per cent tariffs and retaliatory measures hanging over our heads, that creates a really difficult environment for somebody to perhaps to take the chance to become a buyer and move into the opportunity to run a facility like this. So, it’s not only a blow to the workers today but it’s really a tough time to be trying to attract that sort of investment,” Lewis lamented.
In the meantime, Unifor says it has applied to the provincial government for funding to set up an employment action centre to help displaced workers navigate the next chapter in their working lives.
“After 2018, when they kind of got thrown a lifeline, and started hiring again. Right, so there’s quite a few younger folks in there that have families. So those people are going to be trying to find jobs. I would say there’s quite a few, actually. But a lot of them haven’t had to look for work in years and years and years, right? So, they won’t have a proper resume,” Chapman explained.
“I certainly echo Unifor’s call to the province that an employment action centre needs to be established to help these workers,” added Lewis.
