Automotive News Canada - September 2022 - 28

28
* SEPTEMBER 2022
The 'clock is running' and
M-B, VW need minerals
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as VW works to localize its North
America supply chain.
In August, Mercedes-Benz agreed
also to ramp up its efforts to source
battery materials in Canada. With
the " clock running " on the EV transition,
Chief Technology Officer
Markus Schaefer said the automaker
is fanning out investments
across the global battery supply
chain, all the way " down to the
mine. "
Aside from its memorandum
of understanding with Ottawa,
on Aug. 23, Volkswagen said it
was close to finalizing a deal with
Rock Tech Lithium Inc. to supply
10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide
per year beginning in 2026.
The Vancouver-based company
is developing a lithium mine in
Beardmore, Ont., about 150 kilometres
northeast of Thunder
Bay, as well as a processing
plant in Germany.
Mercedes-Benz made no
definitive commitments in
August on mineral processing
in Canada, but Schaefer
said it was in the company's
long-term plans.
" We would like to refine
here as well. The question is,
what can you do in a limited
amount of time? "
The amount of capital
needed for mineral exploration
and other mining activities
is " huge, " Schaefer said,
meaning the company must
make its investments one
step at a time.
" Once [refining] is possible
and doable, then we will
enter into it. "
(TFWP). TADA Executive Director Todd
Bourgon said they're expected to arrive in the
next two to three months, depending on how
quickly applications are processed.
COVID-19 DIDN'T CAUSE IT
Volkswagen requires battery
minerals for its electrification
strategy, which includes the ID
Buzz van that's expected to arrive
in Canada in 2024. The company
wants to introduce 25 EV models
in North America by 2030.
PHOTO: VOLKSWAGEN
Smith:
Battery
supplychain
" These
are still early days, and
this just signals, to me at least, that
the [auto] industry recognizes the
opportunity that Canada has to be
part of that value chain. "
Smith, who is also CEO of
Vancouver-based Global Energy
Metals Corp., said that
while much of the supply-chain
investment
has been in Quebec and
Ontario, provinces less
associated with automotive
will also see opportunities
as Mercedes-Benz,
Volkswagen and other automakers
put Canada under
the microscope.
investments
have been
made mostly
in Quebec
and Ontario
but could
spread
into other
provinces.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
BATTERIES ARE JUST THE START
Battery-material and auto-industry
experts say the automakers'
first steps toward expanding their
Canadian operations beyond sales
and marketing bode well for both
the nascent battery supply chain
and the wider auto sector.
" This is exactly what's required "
to initiate investments in mines
and processing, said Mitchell
Smith, who's on the Battery Metal
Association of Canada's board of
directors.
" The limiting factor in a lot of
this electrification is building out
the resources, building the mines, "
Smith said. " Very much a part of
that is the infrastructure that goes
into handling and processing the
materials and building out that
industry to scale.
" There are also projects
in Alberta, for instance,
on the lithium brines and
in [British Columbia]
with copper, " he said, " so
I think it's a pan-Canadian
opportunity for mineral
extraction. "
'IT PLANTS THE SEED'
It is too early to say
exactly how MercedesBenz's
and Volkswagen's footprints
will evolve, but the deals with
Ottawa " bode well " for Canada,
said David Adams, president of
the Global Automakers of Canada,
which represents Mercedes-Benz
and Volkswagen among other overseas
automakers in Canada.
" It plants the seed. ... Everybody
is looking for not only [battery
material] supply but supply from a
stable environment. And Canada's
increasingly being seen as a stable
environment to procure those materials
and components. "
The attention paid to the
Canadian battery supply chain
could also open the door for local
parts suppliers, Adams said.
" It might be baby steps to begin
with, but ... anytime there's more
investment at the OEM level, that
naturally bodes well for all the suppliers
as well. "
Mercedes-Benz did not share
a clear timeline on when possible
Canadian investment would
be made, but Volkswagen signaled
that decisions would come sooner
rather than later.
Schaefer: Mercedes-Benz wants
to refine battery materials in
Canada, once it is " possible and
doable. " PHOTO: LINKEDIN
Volkswagen plans to announce
a site for its first North American
battery plant before the end of 2022,
Schmall said. The automaker also
expects to choose a partner to provide
battery material and before
the end of the year plans to release
" concrete details " on mining projects
from which it plans to source
material. Volkswagen is evaluating
all options to secure streams
of materials, Schmall said, including
making direct investments in
Canadian mines. - ANC
Chronic staffing shortages
in auto manufacturing and
service predate COVID-19.
" The problem wasn't created
by the pandemic, " Bourgon
said. " It was exacerbated by
the pandemic. "
Supply-chain disruptions
also made automaking
less attractive, said Unifor
President Lana Payne, whose
union represents 40,000
employees in the industry.
The Stellantis vehicle-assembly
plant in Windsor, Ont.,
for example, provided only
18 full weeks of work during
the first nine months of the
year, Payne said. " Most people
want to have stability in their
work. "
According to Statistics
Canada, the job vacancy rate
in transportation manufacturing
broadly ranged between
1.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent in
the years before the pandemic.
By the fourth quarter of 2021,
it had reached 3.9 per cent,
dropping slightly in the first
three months of 2022.
Vacancy rates in the automaking
and parts sectors were
below one per cent pre-COVID
but rose proportionately
during the pandemic. The gap
closed somewhat this year, but
StatsCan's estimates suggest
thousands of positions remain
unfilled.
Bourgon:
" The
[labour]
problem
wasn't
created
by the
pandemic.
It was
exacerbated
by the
pandemic. "
FILE PHOTO
Auto workers grew weary of
pandemic instability and left
Linamar's various divisions, for example, are
short 100 to 150 machine operators because
of attrition, promotion, transfers and growth,
Rose said.
Even before the pandemic, the company
held weekly " Walk-in Wednesdays " - recruiting
open houses - at a Guelph community
centre.
" The number of people walking in is
increasing, which is a good sign, " said Rose.
But the 10 to 30 walk-ins is a far cry from the
2,000 who would show up during the 2009
recession, she said.
At one time, Linamar ran recruiting ads
on radio and in movie theatres. It's no longer
doing so, but Rose said a TikTok campaign is
planned.
SHORTAGE IS 'ABOUT WAGES'
Like others, Unifor's Payne wants Ottawa
to streamline its difficult immigration process,
a key to growing Canada's workforce.
But Unifor does not support using the TFWP
to recruit for what are essentially permanent
jobs.
" I would suggest that it becomes a quick fix
... for some employers who presume they have
a shortage when really the shortage is not
about labour, " she said. " The shortage is about
wages. "
Most successful TFWP applicants apply for
permanent residency. That's not a good way to
address long-term shortages, said Payne, saying
it's " very, very flawed and needs a number
of fixes in order for it to be a pathway to immigration. "
Volpe:
" We're
probably
short
about
10,000
people in
the [parts]
industry. "
FILE PHOTO
" We're probably short about 10,000 people
in the [parts] industry, so it's not hard to find
jobs for people who want to work and have
a useful skill set, " said Flavio Volpe, president
of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association (APMA).
EVERYBODY WANTS TALENT
On an increasingly automated factory floor,
automotive companies are vying with other
industries - such as aerospace, IT, even mining
- for the same talent.
" It's an added challenge because everybody's
trying to attract the same type of individual
that's got some computer skills, diagnostic
skills, that sort of thing, " said David
Adams, president of the Global Automakers of
Canada, which represents overseas car companies.
Traditional
trades are also in demand.
Domestic training simply does not produce
enough qualified people to meet demand,
despite government and industry support, said
TADA's Bourgon. " And the pandemic set colleges
and apprenticeship training programs
back well over two years. "
The APMA participates in several initiatives
to attract and, if necessary, train people
to work in the sector, said Volpe. These
include programs targeting groups underrepresented
in automaking, such as First Nations,
women and people of colour. About 1,900 people,
including Afghan refugees and displaced
Ukrainians, have been hired through these
programs in the past 18 months. - ANC
Linamar is short 100 to 150 machine
operators because of attrition, promotion,
transfers and growth.
PHOTO: LINAMAR
Industry wants a course correction
Rapid technological
change challenges
school curriculum
By STEVE MERTL
VANCOUVER CORRESPONDENT
AUTOMOTIVE EXECUTIVES
say postsecondary institutions
are falling short when
it comes to producing enough
candidates to address the
skilled-labour shortage plaguing
the sector. Meanwhile,
schools are up against rapidly
changing technology and difficulty
finding trade students
with the required academic
chops.
That leaves both sides looking
for solutions.
Some courses are not updated
to keep pace with rapidly
evolving automotive technology,
said David Adams, president
of the Global Automakers
of Canada (GAC). Some curricula
are as much as 10 years
old, he said. " A little bit more
attention needs to be paid to
sectors like ours, where there
is significant technological disruption
going on, to ensure
that when we are bringing people
into the industry, they're
trained for the vehicles they're
going to be involved with and
working with, " Adams said.
The GAC lobbies on behalf of
import automakers.
Schools should consider
condensing programs over
shorter periods " so that you
can move people through the
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