Canada, Ontario Governments Kick in Millions for Toyota Plant Upgrades
Federal and provincial governments in Canada have offered more than $100 million (USD $77 million) for improvements to the Cambridge and Woodstock plants, CTV news is reporting.
The incentives are part of a $421 million (USD $323 million) investment that will be used for light metal stamping in Woodstock, which makes the RAV4, and plant improvements in Cambridge, which produces the soon-to-be-gone Toyota Corolla and Lexus RX vehicles. Toyota has said it will move the Corolla to Mexico, but hasn’t announced what would replace it at the Cambridge plant.
The Canadian government tipped in $34 million in 2013 for improvements to the Cambridge plant to produce the RX 450h.
Toyota’s announcement may be welcome news for Ontario’s car-building complex. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne recently told media in Toronto that building cars in Canada is becoming more expensive, and former Oshawa mayor John Gray calling for a GM boycott if the automaker doesn’t replace the Camaro when production ends in November.
Both Volvo and Land Rover have opted to build plants in Southern U.S. states that could potentially offer more in incentives than Canada’s most populous province, which is heaping more public debt on itself through public infrastructure projects.
The announcement could also signal a better working relationship between the governments and automakers. FCA may be looking for incentives as it prepares to make a $1 billion decision on its Brampton plant, which produces the Dodge Challenger, Charger and Chrysler 300.
Marchionne asked federal and provincial governments in 2014 for incentives to retool the company’s Windsor plant that produces minivans. After a contentious public debate over the size of the financial package requested, FCA decided to go it alone. The future of the Brampton plant, which will also require funding to finance retooling for the next-generation rear-wheel drive sedans, is uncertain.
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What a shameful socialist display. What a waste of tax payer dollars. I suppose the poor slob who is a carpenter, plumber, even a small restaurant would not have access to money to buy new hammers, shovels and pots. I suppose it comes down to large socialist labour and business reliant on sucking the life out of others for their own selfish means. The money could be better spent or taxes reduced, then maybe people would have more to spend, increasing the economy with greater efficiency. Like the great Iron Lady, Margret Thatcher stated, socialism is viable until everyone else money is spent. Industrial welfare is a negative and only socialists and the ultra greedy lazy fncks will support it.
Easy math. If requested incentive is less than the annual cost to supplement a Wal Mart worker × # of workers x actuarily calculated remaining life expectancy of the plant's workforce you give the incentive. If not you don't.