Stellantis rescinds decision to cut shift at Chrysler Pacifica plant

The maker of the Chrysler Pacifica on Wednesday said its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario that makes the minivan will continue to operate on two shifts after the company had planned to cut the second shift next summer.

Stellantis NV more than a year ago said it was cutting the 1,800-person shift because of supply chain disruptions. It has extended that deadline multiple times, the latest being until the end of June. No reason was provided in an email from spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin explaining its decision to maintain the second shift.

The reversal comes after the company announced earlier this month that it is idling indefinitely the Jeep Cherokee crossover plant in Belvidere, Illinois, at the end of February. It cited the global microchip shortage and the costs of electrification in its decision.

The plant in Windsor that employs 4,123 people is expected to be retooled starting in 2023 for a new platform to support battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as a part of a $2.8 billion investment into Stellantis’ Ontario operations. The exact time that will begin hasn’t been shared, but Stellantis has said the plant will return to a three-shift operation following the platform change.

Stellantis continues to face supply-chain disruptions and expects the challenges to continue through 2023, Mark Stewart, chief operating officer in North America, recently said. The company cancelled the day shift at the Windsor plant because of supply-chain issues.

Following the investment, Windsor will produce vehicles on the STLA Large platform that was designed for all-electric vehicles, but is flexible to support alternative power sources. AutoForecast Solutions LLC says the company will build an all-electric minivan there along with the electric replacements for the Dodge Charger and Challenger muscle cars, whose gas versions have been built at Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario. Brampton’s future also has been secured as a part of the Ontario investment.

Windsor also will be home to the battery lab, and Stellantis has partnered with LG Energy Solution for a $4.1 billion joint-venture battery assembly plant in the city under the name NextStar Energy.