Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is reporting April sales for the Windsor-built Pacifica minivan were slow.
The automaker said U.S. sales last month dropped 31 per cent compared to a year ago while year to date sales are also down 29 per cent.
In Canada, April Pacifica sales were 70 per cent slower than last April and sales for the first four months of the year have also decreased by 63 per cent.
U.S. sales of the Grand Caravan minivan, also made in Windsor, were down 37 per cent in April compared to last April while year to date sales dropped 22 per cent.
Canadian sales of the Grand Caravan went down 56 per cent last month compared to the same period last year while sales since January 1 were down by 28 per cent.
Slow Pacifica sales are blamed for the elimination of the third shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant at the end of September. Layoff notices started arriving on Easter weekend making some workers angry.
"The union needs to thank FCA for sending everyone's indefinite layoff notice on Easter weekend," wrote one worker on Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy's Facebook page. "My son received his today [April 22]. Put a nice damper on the Easter dinner."
Cassidy said the union will keep fighting for its membership. He added that Premier Doug Ford called him on Easter weekend to tell him that he will do whatever he can to help and wants to meet.
Union officials met with FCA management in Toronto on April 17 to discuss the 1,500 layoffs at the Windsor plant. During the meeting, FCA committed to $355 million in investments for the plant to enhance FCA’s long term commitment to the facility in Windsor. It was the first high-level meeting with FCA since the union was officially notified March 28 that the third shift was coming to an end.
FCA is also moving to quarterly sales reporting instead of monthly sales reports. The new practice will start after the June sales report. The quarterly reporting will begin on October 1.
