Ford will retool Ontario factory to build EVs starting next year

FILE PHOTO: A Ford logo is seen on an electric vehicle charging point during a press event at the Ford Halewood transmissions plant in Liverpool, Britain, December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said Tuesday that next year it will start retooling its sport utility vehicle assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario to produce electric vehicles, fulfilling a promise made to Canada's Unifor union during contract bargaining in 2020.

Ford plans to begin overhauling the Oakville complex in the second quarter of 2024, idling most of the factory's production workers until the new EV assembly system starts up in late 2024, company officials said Tuesday during a conference call.