Workers at a Windsor, Ont., automotive plant are 鈥渞eeling鈥� after Fiat Chrysler announced they would cut a third shift in the fall.

The move would impact 1,500 jobs or about 25 per cent of the workforce. As workers clocked in and out at the plant Friday morning, they told 麻豆影视 that the mood inside was 鈥減retty grim.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 very devastating news,鈥� said Linda Platt. 鈥淲e鈥檙e worried. But I have a lot of faith in our union. We need to stick together and stay strong. I believe they鈥檒l do the best for us.鈥�

Scott Atkinson, who has spent 25 years at the plant, said there had been a lot of talk among workers about declining sales of the minivans manufactured there.

鈥淭he writing was kind of on the wall,鈥� he said, calling his coworkers a 鈥渇amily of one.鈥� 鈥淎s silly as that may sound it really is a tight-knit group. We鈥檙e kind of reeling right now,鈥� he said.

Chrysler announced that retirement packages will be offered to eligible employees and they will make an effort to place laid off workers in open full-time positions. The company has given the Unifor union six months鈥� notice before the change takes effect.

Some workers are hopeful that a new product could be introduced at the plant to save jobs. An electric vehicle called the Chrysler Portal, planned to go into production in 2020, could be built with similar infrastructure that is at the Windsor plant. 鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be built somewhere,鈥� said worker Atkinson. 鈥淟et鈥檚 hope a new vehicle comes down the pipeline and this can be avoided.鈥�

The company announced that the cuts will come to 鈥渂etter align production with global demand鈥� as sales decline for the Chrysler Pacifica, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and the Dodge Grand Caravan. Worker Rod Drouillard, who has been at the plant for 27 years, said SUVs have overtaken minivans in popularity.

鈥淲ith the minivan, the baby boomers have them. The kids coming in behind them don鈥檛 want the minivans. It鈥檚 an SUV market,鈥� he said.

The union knew that sales were 鈥渟oftening,鈥� said UNIFOR President Jerry Dias on 麻豆影视 Channel Friday. But the move by Chrysler came as a shock.

鈥淭his is pretty drastic,鈥� he said, adding that conversations with Chrysler had been positive even up until last week. 鈥淭here was no indication that they were going to do something this dramatic.鈥�

The company had 鈥渁lways talked about鈥� adding another vehicle to the production line at the Windsor plant to deal with declining sales, he said. In 2015, the plant underwent $2-billion in upgrades to start building the Chrysler Pacifica. The upgrades installed give the plant 鈥渁 lot of options鈥� for what it can produce beyond the minivans, said Dias.

The move is likely to affect more than the 1,500 jobs in Windsor, he said, noting that a number of 鈥渇eeder plants鈥� will be impacted too. 鈥淓very one job in the auto industry is about eight or nine spin-off jobs,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is going to have a dramatic impact on the Windsor economy. Not just the Windsor economy, but the Ontario economy.鈥�

In a statement Friday, Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said he was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� by the news.

鈥淢y immediate thoughts are with the affected employees, their families and the community of Windsor,鈥� said Bains. 鈥淒espite this bad news resulting from a decline in global demand, Canada's auto sector remains strong. With our advanced tech ecosystem, unrivaled market access and highly integrated North American supply chain, our highly skilled auto workers are uniquely positioned to design and build the cars of today and tomorrow.鈥�