Ford is recalling Oakville workers as its $2.3-billion Super Duty retool nears production

What's happening

The plant that used to build the Ford Edge is coming back to work. Ford's Oakville Assembly Complex, on Ford Drive by the QEW, has been idle since the last Edge rolled off the line in 2024. Ford is now retooling it to build the F-Series Super Duty pickup, and the clearest recent sign that the job is close to done comes from the plant floor: Unifor Local 707, the union that represents the plant's workers, says Ford is recalling members from indefinite layoff this fall.

From the last Edge to Super Duty

Oakville Assembly's future looked very different two years ago. Ford had planned to convert the plant to build battery-electric vehicles, but in 2024 it pushed that plan back and, in July 2024, announced it would instead build the Super Duty in Oakville. Unifor's account of the change is that the electric-vehicle launch was delayed to 2027, and that Super Duty production, forecast to begin in 2026, would bring members back to work far sooner than the earlier plan — which, the union says, would otherwise have left workers facing more than three years of layoff.

Workers are being recalled now

The most current, primary signal of where the project sits is the union's own recall notices. In late September 2026, Unifor Local 707 said Ford would recall 12 members from indefinite layoff effective September 28, 2026, to support manpower needs in the plant. In a further update dated October 1, 2026, the local said Ford would recall another 19 members from indefinite layoff effective October 5, 2026. These are staffing moves as the plant ramps up, not a statement that full-rate production has started — but they are the public record of the plant bringing people back.

The money and the jobs

The investment figure most often attached to Oakville is $2.3 billion. Unifor describes it as a $500-million product commitment in 2024 on top of the $1.8 billion Ford committed in 2020, which together fund the assembly and stamping work to build the Super Duty in Oakville. Ford has put the Oakville jobs at about 1,800. OakvilleIQ has not independently verified the capacity or jobs figures beyond what the company and union have stated, and reports them as the company's and union's own numbers.

Why it matters

Oakville Assembly is the town's largest single industrial employer, and for two years its future has been the open question hanging over a large group of local families. The shift from a cancelled electric-vehicle plan to Super Duty trucks is the decision that answers it: whether the workers come back, how many, and when. For the town, it is also an employment-land and tax story — a major plant returning to full use rather than sitting idle.

What we know, and what we don't

• What we know: Ford is retooling Oakville Assembly to build the F-Series Super Duty, a $2.3-billion investment that replaced a cancelled EV plan.
• What we know: Unifor Local 707 says Ford is recalling members from indefinite layoff this fall — 12 on September 28 and 19 on October 5, 2026.
• What we know: Unifor says production is forecast to begin in 2026, about a year earlier than the previous plan.
• What we don't know yet: the exact date full-rate Super Duty production begins, and the total number of workers recalled as the plant reaches full staffing.

What happens next

The near-term milestones are staffing and launch. More recall notices would signal the plant approaching full production, and Ford's own launch announcement would mark the first Super Duty built in Oakville. OakvilleIQ will update this story as Ford or Unifor Local 707 confirm a production start and the final recall numbers.