US automaker Ford Motor Co will shutter one of its manufacturing plants in Canada in 2011, a move that will cut 1,400 jobs, the Canadian Auto Workers has said.
As part of a cost-reduction agreement between the company's US headquarters and the CAW, the plant in St Thomas, Ontario, will close in the third quarter of 2011, the powerful union said in a statement.
Some 1,400 employees will be dismissed, CAW spokeswoman Shannon Devine told AFP. Canadian media put the number of jobs eliminated at 1,600.
As part of the tentative agreement the union said it obtained a commitment by the US automaker to keep at least 10 percent of its North American production in Canada.
"During the negotiations, Ford threatened that if we didn't come to an agreement, the company would begin shifting investment out of Canada," said Ken Lewenza, president of the CAW.
"In today's globalised economy where companies attempt to bypass community commitments, it's crucial that we don't allow this to happen."
The agreement, which expires in September 2012, is expected to be voted on and approved on Sunday by the CAW's 7,000 Ford workers in Canada.
The St Thomas plant produces the Ford Crown Victoria -- a model routinely chosen by US police forces and New York taxis -- as well as the Mercury Grand Marquis.
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