Windsor Assembly Plant workers coming to terms with possible lay off

Three assembly line workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Windsor Assembly Plant said they've accepted they might be unemployed starting next week following the elimination of the third shift.

The shift, which has been in place since 1993, was originally expected to end last year, but has been extended until July 13. 

Windsor Assembly Plant worker Jared Ferencik said the situation has been frustrating, especially since the company hasn't told the employees who exactly will be laid off.

"At this point, I just want it over. It's been so dragged out," he said. "All these extensions are just more annoying than anything because you don't get to move on with your life."

He said he started looking for jobs as soon as he received the first notice of the elimination of the third shift, but COVID-19 has made it difficult.

"I'm basically just going to be unemployed for the next however long," he said.

Ferencik said he does, however, feel fortunate that he's single and doesn't have a family he needs to support, unlike Nathan Prindler, who is a father of two young children.

Prindler was hired in 2018 and said being one of the more recent hires, he's certain that he will be laid off.

"I was planning on buying a house this year and now a lot of things are going to have to come to a halt while we figure out how to  move forward from this," he said.

"I think I've just had to come to grips with it. You know, it's been a year on coming now. As it draws closer, though, you know it weighs a little bit more emotionally."

Prindler said he's looking into going back to school and learning a new trade, but hopes the company will bring him back if they do let him go. 

"I believe long term that things are going to work out," he said.

Carisa Bondy started working at the Windsor Assembly Plant in 2016 and was told she might just make the cutoff of keeping her job.

"I kind of fit in the middle of the layoffs. So, I didn't know for sure if ... I'm getting axed. I hear I might be safe," she said, adding that she was initially very stressed when she first heard the news of the elimination of the shift, but her attitude has changed since then.

"You're freaking out like, 'what am I going to do? I'm going to lose my job. I have a house. I have a car. How do I pay for everything?' And then, I just kind of accepted the fact that ... I'll probably lose my job. What do I got to do to stay afloat until I get a call back?" she said.

"At this point, it's been 14 months since we first found out. So, if you haven't come to terms with it in 14 months, it's a big problem."

Like Ferencik, Bondy said job hunting has been challenging due to the pandemic.

"With COVID, I'm not going to rush trying to find anything right away. A lot of people will be looking for jobs and I'm sure a lot of people would be in a worse situation than I am," she said.

Buyouts being issued

Bondy and other newer employees hope long-time plant workers will accept buyout offers, which will open jobs.

Bill Alder, who's been working at the plant for 24 years, has already accepted his buyout.

He said he's happy with it as he was planning to retire next year and isn't losing out on much money.

"Part of my hope is that somebody gets to stay up there," he said, adding that not everyone will be accepting their buyouts, leaving many young employees out of a job.