Unifor is accusing Stellantis of abandoning its commitments to Canadian auto workers after the automaker announced the sale Monday of its Brampton Assembly Plant to defence contractor Roshel.
The union says the loss of an assembly plant is a major blow to Canada’s auto sector and raises concerns about the country’s manufacturing footprint at a time when workers are already facing layoffs and production slowdowns.
Unifor National President Lana Payne said the company has broken faith with workers.
“Stellantis has betrayed our members with an underhanded deal to sell the plant and walk away from its commitments to these workers,” Payne said.
“Allowing the sale to move forward is a critical failure of our national auto strategy and breaks the federal government’s promise to protect auto workers from this U.S. trade war.”
Payne argued the closure goes beyond Brampton and could have wider implications for Canada’s auto industry.
“Brampton’s closure will be a trophy for Donald Trump to wave around, justifying his tariff assault on our country, and our biggest fear is that this creates a pathway for other automakers to follow suit,” she said.
Stellantis says the sale will create a path to return the Brampton facility to productive industrial use and aligns with the company’s broader strategic goals.
The automaker says it remains committed to working with Unifor on what it calls a fair resolution for affected employees.
The announcement also comes as contract negotiations continue between Stellantis and Unifor, with more than 6,000 workers at Windsor Assembly among those covered by the talks.
Unifor Local 444 President and Stellantis Master Bargaining Chair James Stewart said workers across the company are watching developments closely.
“There’s a lot of nervousness across all of our facilities and that’s around Stellantis’ commitment to the Canadian facilities and the Canadian footprint. Selling the Brampton plant is simply unacceptable. Selling any auto plant is simply unacceptable,” Stewart said.
Stewart said ongoing shutdowns at Windsor Assembly have added to those concerns.
“We have in Windsor Assembly Plant a continued schedule of down weeks as production volume soften. We have three shifts of workers in Windsor not working right now. This is not good news. And all of this is the reason that our contract talks have taken so long and been so slow to proceed over the past several weeks,” he said.
Stewart added that Unifor’s Stellantis master bargaining committee is meeting Tuesday to review the announcement and consider its options.
The union also plans to proceed with a four-party meeting later this week involving Stellantis and government officials, and says it will determine its next steps after those discussions.