Unifor urges feds to stop Stellantis’ possible sale of Brampton plant

The union representing Canadian workers at Stellantis is urging the federal government to intervene as the automaker looks to sell its idled Brampton, Ont., assembly plant to Canadian armoured ⁠vehicle maker Roshel.

In a letter to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly on Wednesday, Unifor national president Lana Payne warned that if Stellantis is successful in selling the facility, the company will have “abandoned” vehicle production at the plant. That would leave more than 2,000 employees out of work and affect suppliers employing thousands nearby, she said.

“There is no comparable economic replacement for this work. Canada’s economy will be worse-off as a result,” Payne wrote.

“It is incumbent on the federal government to do everything possible to prevent this outcome.”

Last Friday, Stellantis said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel on a potential sale of the Brampton facility. The future of the plant has been a central issue in collective bargaining negotiations between Unifor and Stellantis, which kicked off earlier this month.

But the union said Friday, which it had set as its internal deadline to reach a new tentative deal, that the two sides were at an impasse. The current collective agreement is set to expire Sept. 20 at 11:59 p.m.

Workers at the Brampton plant were laid off when the company halted operations there in 2023.

Last month, the union said it received notice that Stellantis was considering the closure and sale of the plant. The facility had been slated to be retooled for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before the company paused the plan in early 2025.

It later announced it was moving production of the Jeep Compass to the U.S., in what the union has called a violation of its current collective agreement, leaving the plant idled indefinitely.

In her letter to the federal minister, Payne pointed out that when Stellantis relocated Jeep Compass production, it publicly committed to plans for the Brampton plant that would be subject to discussions with the Canadian government.

She asked Joly to clarify what role Ottawa might’ve played in discussions around the site’s potential sale, and whether the MOU could have breached conditions of the commitment the automaker made to the government.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Wednesday, Joly encouraged Unifor and Stellantis to continue negotiations, which she acknowledged have been “difficult and bumpy” to this point.

“When it comes to any potential sale of the plant to any other company, we will make sure that we protect Canadian workers,” the minister said.

“At the end of the day … we want a new model from Stellantis at the Stellantis plant, and we’ll put maximum pressure to make that happen, and if they don’t, we’ll get our money back.”

But Payne said recent developments have complicated the path toward reaching a new collective agreement with the automaker, calling a potential sale of the Brampton plant “a disaster-scenario for the Canadian auto industry and the broader industrial economy.”

“The Stellantis proposal to sell the plant to a non-automaker never should have been considered in the first place and should be met with fierce resistance from the federal government,” Payne wrote.

Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Stellantis Canada chairman, president and CEO Trevor Longley said last week the company considered multiple options for the facility and believes Roshel represents “a strong path to restoring sustainable operations” while preserving the site’s manufacturing capabilities.

Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov said the company plans to establish a Canadian Centre of Excellence for Defence Manufacturing in Brampton, “in addition to its current automotive production.”

“We are ready to provide letters of commitment for first consideration to laid-off Unifor workers and bring them back to work as early as 2026 through the federal government’s Light Utility Vehicles procurement program and other automotive and defence opportunities,” Shimonov said in a statement last week.

“We look forward to successfully concluding our discussions with Stellantis and implementing our plans to bring over 2,000 jobs, as well as new sovereign capabilities, including the production of ballistic steel, to Canada and to this facility.”

On Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he agreed with Joly that a “new model” is needed for the plant.

“The province has not given Stellantis a penny for the Brampton facility, but in saying that, we want to work with them,” he said at an unrelated news conference.