THUNDER BAY — The theft of wiring for bi-level commuter cars assembled for Metrolinx has led to rotating layoffs of some workers at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay.
Unifor Local 1075 President Dominic Pasqualino says production will be impacted by the theft of custom wiring harnesses from a plant in Mexico last month.
Pasqualino said a "domino effect" will see employees at various work stations laid off for two weeks at a time, starting Monday.
"There are some temporary layoffs that are going to happen. We'll have one station down for a couple weeks, then those guys will come back and the next station will be down for a couple weeks," he told TBNewswatch.
An Alstom spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Pasqualino said he's not sure yet how many workers in total will be affected.
He initially said he believed no more than 25 at a time would be laid off due to the wire theft, but subsequently learned that there were 48 layoffs on Monday.
Pasqualino estimated that about 300 to 325 Unifor members are currently employed at the plant.
"Those wires were a special gauge. Some of the stuff on these cars you just don't pick up at Canadian Tire. It's not like that. They have to be specially-made," he said.
He lamented the disruption in production and the impact on people's lives at a time when plant workers have strived to follow rigid COVID-19 protocols for the past year.
"It's hard, in the manufacturing sector, to try to keep things as clean as they are, and we've been doing all that. And now you want to throw in stolen wires?"
An Alstom assembly plant at La Pocatiere, Quebec is also impacted by the theft in Mexico.
According to a Canadian Press report, nearly 130 employees working on Montreal subway cars will be laid off for an indefinite period.
Alstom told CP that operational teams specialized in supply chain management are working to minimize the impact and resume normal production as soon as possible.
NOTE: This story has been updated to include new information obtained by Dominic Pasqualino regarding the number of layoffs in Thunder Bay
