Extension of Brampton Stellantis shutdown sparks fear among thousands of workers currently off the job

After Stellantis froze its $1.3 billion retooling effort at the Brampton Assembly Plant on February 20, citing a need to reassess the electrification strategy for the launch of the next-generation Jeep Compass, the automaker assured its workforce the pause would only last eight weeks. 

During a May 2 meeting with Unifor officials, the automaker informed the union that the work stoppage is indefinite, only telling workers further information will be provided in June. It leaves approximately 3,000 staff—laid off since late Febraury—in limbo as they anxiously wait to find out if they still have a job.

"There's a lot of uncertainty. We're worried about our plant. You know, the longer it takes the company to make a decision, the longer it is for us to go back," Vito Beato, President of Unifor Local 1285, told The Pointer this week. The concern for union members intensified after the meeting, he said, with Stellantis refusing to provide any timeline for resuming operations in Brampton.

The ongoing auto sector tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have caused chaos for companies like Stellantis, which are being pressured to move their operations to America.  

The situation at the company’s Windsor plant, which employs roughly 4,500 workers, is also uncertain. After a two-week pause, the automaker announced a new production schedule with operations switched between full production, reduced shifts, and full shut-downs for 12 weeks starting May 5.

Beato said previous commitments by the company assuring that workers would be back building cars at the facility by the fourth quarter of this year, after the retooling effort to make way for electric vehicles, no longer makes sense as the latest extension of the shutdown will make the original timeline next to impossible. 

"It doesn't add up,” he said. “The longer it takes for the company to make a decision, the longer it takes for us to go back to start building cars. So the best thing for us to do, and we let the company know this, is to do what we do best, to start building cars and brands."

Stellantis, a Dutch-based auto sector giant, owns popular international car brands including Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Fiat.

According to Beato, the reason for the stoppage given by Stellantis in the early May meeting has not changed from the justification when the massive facility at the intersection of Williams Parkway and Airport Road was first closed in February—reviewing powertrain options.

“That's the same reason; they're still committed to the Brampton assembly plant. They're still committed to the Jeep Compass. So the same reasoning hasn't changed," he said. The timing of the decision to work out how a new powertrain could be assembled (the reason Stellantis gave for the initial delay to the retooling effort) coincided with Trump’s first tariff threats after taking office in late January.

Cars have been made at the facility since 1986.

Unifor Local 1285 President Vito Beato says members of the union are even more worried now after another delay to EV transition work at Brampton’s Stellantis plant.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

The uncertainty in Brampton has permeated the entire auto sector since 25 percent tariffs on Canadian made cars were imposed by Trump in April. His push to have automakers move their operations to the U.S. has upended the long-term plans of many manufacturers. Across Ontario, plants are cutting shifts, facing temporary layoffs, shifting their EV priorities and losing revenue.

In the last week of April, Doug Ostermann, the Chief Financial Officer of Stellantis, speaking in a conference call with analysts, did not mince words. He said the company would have to make tough decisions about its future after seeing revenue drop by 14 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time last year. 

It was only the latest signal that Stellantis could be considering a departure from Brampton. Prior to announcing the two-month pause at the Brampton Plant, the automaker sold 32 acres of its property located at 2000 Williams Parkway. Stellantis said the decision was part of an effort to streamline operations and optimize its real estate portfolio.

Efforts to transition the Brampton Assembly to manufacture the next-generation Jeep Compass have been paused for the third straight month.

(Stellantis) 

Although Stellantis has never mentioned tariffs as the reason behind the work disruption at both plants, Beato expressed grave concerns to The Pointer in February.

"This is an actual attack on our economy. It's an attack on our auto industry," he said ahead of the tariffs.

Stellantis is still contractually obligated to the production of electric Jeep Compasses in Brampton as outlined in its 2023 collective agreement with Unifor. As part of the deal, the provincial and the federal government each committed  $132 million for the retooling effort underway at the plant prior to the work stoppage in February. 

On May 13, Japanese auto giant Honda announced it was suspending plans for a $15 billion EV project in Alliston, for two years, citing the dwindling demand for EVs and the uncertainty the industry is facing due to Trump’s tariffs.

General Motors announced changes in April to the operations of its Oshawa plant by cutting one of its shifts at the three-shift assembly plant as a result of the tariffs. The changes, set to come into effect this fall, will see 750 workers lose their job.

This follows the previous closure of the plant in 2019—it reopened and resumed auto production in 2021. Prior to the initial full closure there were partial closures, shifts were cancelled, then resumed, amid constant uncertainty at the plant for years. Workers in Brampton fear they are caught in a similarly chaotic situation.

"We are concerned, yes, and our members are very worried. And so am I for our members, because, like I've been saying, our plant is very vulnerable right now,” Beato said. "With everything that's going on with the reduction in EV mandates, the removal of the EV rebates, the consumers, and the infrastructure on EV, and with the tariffs exacerbating all those other things as well, absolutely we're concerned."

He said the union will continue to press Stellantis to fulfil the commitments under the 2023 contract with the Unifor, Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

"The company's telling us that they are committed to the Canadian operations, and we have agreements in place that the company has to be committed to the Brampton assembly plant and the Canadian operations," Beato told The Pointer.

"So we are going to force the company and the governments to make sure those commitments are upheld."

François-Philippe Champagne, former minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, previously stated in a post on ‘X’ that Stellantis had committed to an upgrade of the Brampton plant.

"In 2023, Stellantis committed to modernizing and optimizing its Brampton Plant—that was a key part of our deal," he posted. "We expect Stellantis to deliver for our workers, our industry, and our communities."

Champagne also shared a 2023 letter from Stellantis, in which the automaker described the Brampton retooling as a “lynchpin” of its commitment to maintaining its footprints in Canada.

A 2023 letter recently shared by former industry minister François-Philippe Champagne outlining Stellantis’ 2023 commitment to modernizing and optimizing the Brampton Assembly Plant, calling it a “lynchpin” of its footprint in Canada at the time.

(X)

When asked about the uncertainty facing the auto sector, and the recent announcement by Honda, Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference on May 14 that he received assurances from Honda that the company is still committed to building electric vehicles in Ontario.

“But I have to make something clear. Until any of the deals we made with the EV sector, there’s not a penny that has flowed yet to Honda,” he said. “So we haven’t spent any money until they start producing products. And that goes for, no matter if it's Honda, Volkswagen or Stellantis.”

Referencing the $132 million committed by Queen’s Park (matching the same amount from the federal government) Ford made it clear that if the retooling effort in Brampton does not happen, the money will not flow. It would be a violation of the contract Stellantis signed, which federal officials pointed out after the first work stoppage in February.

The Pointer reached out to the provincial finance and transportation ministries about the contract with Stellantis. They did not respond ahead of publication.

Stellantis did not respond to questions about the future of its Brampton assembly plant.

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