Unifor says Stellantis's silence confirms Brampton plant sale

CP24 reported that Unifor, the union bargaining with Stellantis, reads the carmaker’s refusal to confirm a sale as proof that its idled Brampton plant is sold. That reading rests on a Friday meeting, where, Global News reported, Unifor’s bargaining team said Stellantis would not confirm or deny a finalized sale or give a timeline for answering.

The only deal on record is a possible one: in September Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel, a Brampton armoured-vehicle maker, for a potential sale, and no finalized sale has been confirmed. Roshel describes itself as one of the world’s largest makers of smart armoured vehicles, and NASA ordered its Senator vehicles to carry astronauts to the launchpad. The plant, which laid off more than 2,000 workers when it halted operations in 2023, is in the Toronto economic region, and Unifor’s bargaining committee paused talks with Stellantis in Toronto.

The stakes reach beyond one plant: in 2024 Ontario’s motor vehicle and parts industry employed 148,300 people, Job Bank said. Parts makers hold 66% of those jobs against 29% in assembly, so a plant’s fate affects its suppliers too.

Map: Brampton, Peel Region. © OpenStreetMap contributors

Sources: CP24 · Global News · Roshel · Job Bank (Government of Canada) · Unifor