Unifor national president Lana Payne is warning that Stellantis is “100 per cent serious” about exiting its Brampton assembly plant and she is asking Ottawa to step in and prevent its sale to Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel. With Stellantis and Unifor still at an impasse just days before their collective agreement expires on Sept. 20, Payne said at a press conference on Thursday that thousands of auto jobs could be permanently erased. “Stellantis is looking for an exit, and no one, no one, should be holding the door open,” Payne told reporters Thursday. “This would make Brampton the first auto plant to fall in this trade war. And when plants close, they rarely, if ever, come back.” The comments come just one day after Payne penned a letter to federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly on Wednesday warning that “there is no comparable economic replacement for this work,” and that “Canada’s economy will be worse-off as a result.” Roshel had previously said that they “look forward” to bringing back over 2,000 jobs, but Payne rejected that idea saying “it’s contingent on government contracts.” “We’re talking thousands and thousands of jobs that cannot be replicated there...consider the pay, the benefits, the collective agreement, the pensions (and) all of the things that we have been negotiated over many decades at that plant. These are not things that you can recreate overnight,” she said. A letter to employees In a letter to employees Thursday, Stellantis explained that market and trade conditions had “directly impacted the original business case for Brampton.” “Over the past several months, Stellantis has evaluated a range of options to return production to Brampton, including potential new product allocations, interim production concepts, and opportunities with other companies,” the letter read. “While each option was carefully reviewed, none provided a sustainable long-term business case that would support continued operations at the facility.” The company then clarified that they are “exploring a potential sale of the facility to Roshel,” but stressed that no transaction has been completed and due diligence is ongoing. Stellantis also pointed to more than $8 billion in previous investments saying that they remain “committed to Canada.” Last week’s memorandum Last week, Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel which has been idle since 2023. The facility had been slated for retooling to build the Jeep Compass, with that process beginning in early 2024. However, Stellantis paused the plan in early 2025 before announcing it would move Compass production to the U.S. Payne noted that Unifor continues to believe Stellantis should resume the promised retooling to get them “back on track.” “Our union has not wavered on its position that the best course of action for Brampton is for Stellantis to commence retooling of the promised Jeep Compass,” she said. Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CTV News. However, president and CEO Trevor Longley has previously said that 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. Contract talks at an impasse The dispute comes ahead of the expiration of the collective agreement between Unifor and Stellantis at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. Payne stressed to reporters that the date is not a strike deadline and that no strike deadline has been set. “It remains Unifor’s objective to reach a tentative settlement with Stellantis without the need to take strike action,” she said, adding that bargaining remains “extremely challenging.” Strike action remains a possibility after the required steps, including conciliation and a strike vote. Payne said the union is pushing governments to find another option for the Brampton plant rather than accepting a choice between Roshel and closure. “What Unifor is ultimately seeking here is time,” she said. “Don’t close, don’t sell. Protect the integrity of the plant as a bridge to future vehicle production.” “Anything can happen in six months, anything can happen in a year, anything can happen in two years. The world can change very quickly.” Payne later added that selling the plant during ongoing trade tensions and collective bargaining would be “indefensible.” The union is now pressing the federal government to clarify its role in the proposed sale and to intervene to keep Stellantis in Brampton. “The choice should not be that it’s being sold,” Payne said. “The choice should be that we have time to figure out a solution here that includes vehicle assembly for Brampton,” she said. With files from the Canadian Press.
