Stellantis’s auto assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton in Ontario will get $3.6 billion worth of upgrades to support the company’s push toward electric vehicle and battery production.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford visited Windsor, Ont., with Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis North America, on Monday to announce that Stellantis is investing billions of dollars into retooling and modernizing the two plants.
The company also said these changes, along with the creation of new research and development centres, will fuel new jobs — specifically the return of a third shift at both plants.
“We are really happy to be here today to share more good news and stability for our Canadian operations,” Stewart said, adding this announcement secures opportunities for “generations to come.”
In a news release Monday, the company said it will transform the plants into “flexible, multi-energy vehicle assembly facilities” ready to “produce the electric vehicles of the future.” The media release had said the investment was $3.4 billion, but during the announcement, officials clarified it’s a $3.6-billion investment.
“It’s a plan that will see Ontario retake its rightful position as North America’s leader in automotive manufacturing as it was for over 100 years, and today we are once again seeing that plan in action,” Ford said during the news conference at the Windsor Assembly Plant.
“We know that we can and should build the vehicles of the future right here in Ontario. We have the expertise, we have the best workers anywhere on this planet, we have the critical minerals needed to power the EV vehicle revolution — now we have the competitive business environment needed to attract game-changing global investments.”
Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis North America, says the upgrades to the plants will secure opportunities for ‘generations to come.’ (Mike Evans/CBC)
This announcement comes on the heels of a $4.9-billion, joint-venture EV battery plant that was announced by politicians, Stellantis and South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution in March for the southwestern Ontario region.
For the Windsor Assembly Plant, Stellantis hopes the changes will diversify its ability to introduce battery-electric or hybrid models to the production line to meet what it calls “growing demand for low-emissions vehicles.”
The province is funding up to $287 million with this renovation.
“The hard work Windsorites have put in to building their community, their future, has defined you … and it’s really been recognized and is significantly paying off,” Trudeau said.
At the Brampton Assembly Plant, Stellantis will also change its assembly line to allow it to produce battery-electric and hybrid vehicles, with the province committing $132 million to the facility.
The announcement, Trudeau added, is not only good for Canada’s auto and manufacturing sector, but also for the environment.
“Not only are we growing a world-leading auto industry creating hundreds of jobs, and securing thousands more, we’re keeping our air clean by building and driving more EVs here at home,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at the announcement at the Windsor Assembly Plant Monday. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)
2 new R&D facilities planned with EV focus
The company will also build two new research and development facilities that focus on EV production and battery technology.
Stellantis will expand its Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor by building two Electric Vehicle and Battery Pack Testing Centres of Competency, which will support everything from auto design to development.
The centres are also expected to provide opportunities for students in university, college and startups that want to take part in EV production.
About 650 new jobs are expected to be generated from these facilities.
According to Stellantis, the province is investing up to $94 million for these centres.
In total, the province is providing up to $513 million to fund these developments.
A news release from the Ontario government had said Ottawa was matching Ontario’s investment, but a news release from the federal government says it is investing $529 million toward the project.
“This is a moment we’ve all been waiting for,” said François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation,science and industry, in a news release.
“We’re going to be continuing to make a difference because this is truly transformational for our industry.”
With these changes and the EV battery plant, Stellantis said it’s investing $6 billion in the province’s auto industry.
Return of the 3rd shift
During Monday’s announcement, Stewart said the second shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant will remain in place until the end of the year.
He also said that the third shift, which ended in July 2020, will return.
The termination of the 27-year shift affected 1,500 workers, with more than 700 given buyouts at the time.
Stewart did not say when the shifts will return.
Mayor Drew Dilkens said at Monday’s announcement that Windsor is ‘electrified,’ and a trusted community and employer for Stellantis to be investing locally. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)
He also said the company is not yet ready to announce which vehicle productions will go to each plant, but they are “excited” about the lineup, which will have an “expanded portfolio” of vehicles.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens also spoke at the announcement Monday.
“Each of us has gone through the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of an auto sector — we’ve lived through it here in Windsor,” he said.
“There is no doubt Windsor is on the move … Windsor’s place at the heart of the automotive renaissance is clear.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
