Ford Motor Company announced Saturday that it has reached a tentative three-year national labor agreement with Canadian auto union Unifor.
The proposed contract would cover more than 5,000 unionized Ford employees across Canada, according to the company.
Neither Ford nor Unifor responded to requests for comment on the specifics of the agreement outside of normal business hours.
Unifor launched negotiations with Ford last month as part of broader contract talks with Detroit’s Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. The union, which represents nearly 19,000 workers at those three companies, entered talks seeking improvements in pay, job security, and benefits.
The union chose to begin negotiations with Ford first, saying last month that the automaker has shown the strongest commitment to keeping its operations running in Canada.
Before the deal can take effect, it must be ratified by Unifor members who work at Ford. The existing labor agreements between Unifor and the automakers are scheduled to expire on September 20.
Unifor kicked off bargaining earlier than it typically would, pointing to deteriorating economic conditions as the reason for the accelerated timeline.
Across the three automakers, approximately 6,000 workers have faced layoffs as the companies have shifted or suspended production at a number of facilities.
