THUNDER BAY - An announcement is expected to come on Wednesday from the provincial government regarding negotiations for more work at the local Bombardier plant as two major contracts wind down this year, but the chief operating officer for the Americas warns there will still be layoffs upcoming.
“We’ve been fairly straightforward. Two major contracts are going to be coming to an end. There are going to be layoffs upcoming,” said David Van Der Wee, chief operating officer for Bombardier Transportation for the Americas.
Van Der Wee was in Thunder Bay on Tuesday to host a town hall meeting with workers at the local Bombardier plant.
He said the purpose of the meeting was to commend local workers on the good job they have done over the past several years by completing record deliveries, producing high-quality products, and hitting all the commitments for the Metrolinx and Toronto Transit Commission contracts.
However, Van Der Wee also addressed the uncertainty for the future, as these contracts will be completed by the end of 2019 and no new contracts have been signed.
“We are facing some uncertainty in the future, but we have mobilized an incredible effort to address that,” he said.
Van Der Wee said he has been meeting with all levels of government, as well as local organizations such as the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Community Economic Development Commission, and Unifor to ensure everyone understands the situation in Thunder Bay and how the lives of nearly 1,200 employees will be impacted if no work comes to the plant.
“We are trying to look at the solutions that will secure a bridge to a longer term viability for Thunder Bay,” he said. “We are really looking at all opportunities to secure some sort of work to bring us to the next steps.”
The company is in direct discussions with Metrolinx on future opportunities that might help the plant, Van Der Wee said.
“Hopefully there will be a contract soon,” said Dominic Pasqualino, president of Unifor Local 1075. “(Van Der Wee) indicated it isn’t a big contract that is going to keep everybody going if there is something that is signed up here. He used the analogy of football that we have to do it one or two yards at a time to get where we need to be.”
While Van Der Wee did say there would be layoffs, which are expected with any cyclical work at a plant, he could not say how many workers would be impacted or when any layoffs would start, though he indicated it could be in the company’s fourth quarter.
A work share was started last week at the plant as a way to minimize layoffs at this time, but Pasqualino said workers will be going home at some point in the future.
“Hopefully when they do go home, we can give them an answer saying there is not going to be work for a period of time, but after a point there will be work and you can come back,” he said. “That is what we are striving for.”
When asked if he foresees the Bombardier operation remaining in Thunder Bay, Van Der Wee said he is confident the company is doing everything it can to help the workers here.
“Our employees have held up their end of the bargain in terms of performance, their ability to deliver good, high quality vehicles on time,” he said. “If you create that kind of performance, even if you have some ebb and flow of contracts, then you’ve done everything you can to secure your long-term future.”
“Because of those results it makes us in a better position to bargain for more work,” Pasqualino added. “But it seems to be a struggle right now to get contracts. We don’t have anything signed at this time.”
Minister Greg Rickford is expected to make an announcement regarding the Thunder Bay Bombardier plant Wednesday morning.
