Unifor and Stellantis begin contract talks with Sept. 11 deadline as Brampton plant future hangs
Union and automaker opened negotiations Tuesday over a new contract covering more than 9,000 workers. Job security at the idled Brampton Assembly Plant is the union's top concern.
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Unifor and Stellantis opened contract negotiations Tuesday, September 1, marking the final round of the union's bargaining with Detroit's three major automakers. The talks carry a Sept. 11 deadline and come as more than 2,000 workers remain laid off from Stellantis' Brampton Assembly Plant, which has sat idle since 2023.
The negotiations cover workers at Stellantis facilities across Canada. Unifor has already ratified new collective agreements with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors earlier this summer, and typically uses pattern bargaining to set terms it hopes to replicate with other companies.
Union national president Lana Payne said this round will be the union's "most difficult and challenging yet, possibly ever," citing uncertainty over tariffs, trade policy and the automaker's commitment to Canada. "I would say we have defied a few odds, given the moment, given the uncertainty, given the tariffs and Trump's trade war, given all the massive headwinds against us," she said.
The union's central concern is job security at Brampton. Last month, Stellantis told Unifor it was considering closing or selling the plant, putting more than 2,000 laid-off autoworkers' income security benefits in question. The company has not issued formal written notice, though under the current collective agreement it is required to give at least one year's notice before any closure or sale takes effect.
The Brampton plant had been slated for retooling to produce the electric Jeep Compass, a process that began early in 2024 before Stellantis paused the plan in early 2025. The company later announced it was moving Compass production to the U.S., a move Unifor said violated its collective agreement.
"To be blunt, Stellantis has had a lot of work to do and will have to do to repair relations with our members and with Canadians," Payne said. "It starts with making things right with our members at Brampton Assembly and that means putting them back to work building vehicles, not closing and not selling the plant."
Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley said the company has invested more than $8 billion across its Canadian operations since 2022 and views Canada as an important long-term market.
The facts
How many workers are affected by the Brampton Assembly Plant layoffs?
More than 2,000 workers at Stellantis' Brampton Assembly Plant remain laid off.
What was the Brampton plant supposed to produce?
The electric Jeep Compass. Stellantis began retooling the plant for this production in early 2024 but paused the plan in early 2025 and later moved Compass production to the U.S.
