Canadian Labour Reporter

CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER 7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 Continued from page 1 Rebecca Cook (Reuters) A Chrysler employee assembles a minivan at the Windsor Assembly Plant. In a statement that blind sided government officials, Chrysler announced its intention to withdraw requests for financial assistance in the development of its assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton, Ont. Chrysler CEO calls economy 'borderless' Financial assistance from the government could set up Chrys- ler's Windsor and Brampton plants for decades and provide job security, Dias said. Auto workers are purchasers, and their pres- ence in Ontario means a significant portion of their paycheques go back into the community. Dias said Chrysler has pumped more than $85 million into the auto industry every year for the past decade. "When you're looking at those types of investments, the gov- ernment's portion probably would have been paid off in three years," he said. "So then you've got another 25 or 27 years of straight gravy. A guy like Hudak wants to be premier, for crying out loud, he doesn't get it." The political commentary being lobbed about — like so many footballs — in combination with the slow pace of talks ultimately led Chrysler to step away from the table, Dias said. The comments made Chrysler "furious, absolutely furious… and they are absolutely re-evaluating their long-term footprint. That's a problem," he said. Mexico and the United States — both lower-cost jurisdictions — offer automakers millions of dollars in incentives. "I regret my failure in having been unable to convey the high- ly competitive nature of markets that offer manufacturing oppor- tunities to carmakers that operate on a global scale," Marchionne said in Chrysler's statement. "Some of the shots across the bow following our initial approaches to the federal and provincial gov- ernments reveal, apart from political convenience, a somewhat restricted view of Canada as an industrial player in what has be- come a borderless economy. It is clear that we, at Chrysler, need to do more to explain ourselves and our choices going forward." While critics question Chrysler's future in Canada and call foul on Ontario's political atmosphere, Minister of Industry James Moore plans to gut it out. "It certainly came as a surprise to us," Moore said of Chrys- ler's decision following the release of the company's statement. "They made a decision to push away from the table for now principally because of concerns with the political dynamic in the province of Ontario… We have a very different policy approach at the Government of Canada." This year's Automotive Innovation Fund commits $500 mil- lion to the industry in addition to the $250 million previously committed, he said. "Our support for the auto industry is strong," Moore said. He invited Chrysler back to the table to discuss mov- ing forward together. "I think there's every reason to stay in Canada and I think Chrysler knows that," Moore said. "We've made Canada a very attractive place for the auto industry to set down roots and to build." Moore's refusal to step away may yet win over Chrysler's CEO. Though Marchionne called this time out, the company's statement made it clear he is not yet ready to call it quits. "Our commitment to Canada remains strong."

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