GRETZKY: Amherstburg workers abandoned as Crown Royal plant shuts down early

WINDSOR — Ontario NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) says workers in Amherstburg and across Windsor-Essex were abandoned after Diageo abruptly shut down the Crown Royal bottling plant two days ahead of schedule without warning, leaving nearly 200 people without jobs.

“People showed up ready to work and were told it was over. Just like that,” said Gretzky. “These workers gave years, in many cases decades, of their lives to this plant. They deserved honesty, respect, and the chance to finish with some dignity.”

“In Doug Ford’s Ontario, workers are treated like they’re disposable,” Gretzky said. “After all the stunts, the threats, and the photo ops, these jobs are still gone and families are left to deal with the consequences.”

Gretzky criticized the Premier’s handling of the situation, saying public theatrics did nothing to protect these workers.

“Look around. Pouring out bottles for the cameras didn’t save a single job,” she said. “It didn’t stop production from being moved out of the country. It didn’t help the workers who now have to figure out how they’re going to pay their mortgage or support their kids.”

The Windsor region already faces some of the highest unemployment in Canada, making the loss of nearly 200 good-paying jobs especially devastating.

“This isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet,” Gretzky added. “It’s families, it’s rent, it’s groceries, it’s people lying awake at night wondering what comes next.”

“Our community built this plant and workers deserve a government that should be fighting for them before it’s too late, not one that shows up after the fact with no real plan."