The Business Review Canada Weekly Roundup

The investment will save 2,800 jobs

On Thursday Ford made an announcement with its plans to invest $700 million into an assembly plant near Toronto to add models and meet the increased demand for its vehicles around the world.

The investment will save the 2,800 jobs at the Oakville, Ontario plant and expand its manufacturing capability.

The 5.5 million square foot plant manufactures the Ford Edge, Flex crossover SUV’s, Lincoln MKX, and Lincoln MKT.

This investment is great news for Canadian auto workers, as they prepared for the worst last year because they were paid higher wages than auto workers in the U.S. Auto executives were dubbing Canada as the most expensive place in the world to build automobiles. A year ago, workers agreed to a new contract that cut U.S. automaker’s cost in the country.

In a statement, Ford said that it plans to bring several new models to the plant to meet rising sales in North America and throughout the world. The factory plans to become more flexible, with the ability to produce more of the models that are in higher demand.

"If consumers suddenly shift their buying habits, we can seamlessly change our production mix without having to idle a plant," Joe Hinrichs, the company's U.S. President, said in the statement.

With a portion of the investment, the company plans to increase fuel efficiency research and development efforts in Ontario.

Ford says changes to the plant are already underway, and expected to be done by the fall of 2014.