4-hour commute? Brampton Stellantis workers weighing whether to come to Windsor | CBC News

Some employees of Stellantis’ Brampton assembly plant are weighing the decision to take positions in Windsor, Ont., following the company’s announcement Tuesday it will be producing its Jeep Compass model in Illinois instead of Brampton.

With the return of a third shift to Stellantis’ Windsor assembly plant slated for early 2026, unionized workers in Brampton will have the option of transferring to fill that shift. It’s a decision that has not come easy for Chris Vicars, who has worked at the Brampton plant since 2005.

He says he came to the decision after sitting down with kids, extended family and friends, ultimately deciding to live and work in Windsor through the week, while spending weekends in Brampton.

“My wife and I talked about my pension. I have nine years to go to collect my full pension, so it was a tough choice but at the same time I don’t want to lose out on that for nine years of my life,” Vicars told the CBC. “I’m going to lose nine years of my life being around my wife and my kids, both my daughters cried.”

Both of Vicars’ daughters are in their early teens, aged 12 and 14. He says through the week, he’ll be living with family in Windsor, which will help save money on living expenses.

Brampton’s Stellantis plant employed roughly 3,000 people before it shut down in early 2024 as work to retool the facility got underway. The retooling was being done to accommodate the production of the company’s new Jeep Compass model, but these efforts were paused in February as the company worked to reassess its product strategy amidst U.S. tariffs on Canadian manufactured vehicles.

Vicars says he first assumed negative news regarding Brampton’s Stellantis plant would eventually come, after the announcement in February. However, the lack of transparency from the company has led to some annoyance for the Stellantis employee.

“I don’t understand why you’re not telling us what you’re doing,” he said. “Because we could have been looking for a job two years ago, but we thought we were going back to work. So you’re kind of screwing with people’s lives now because we’ve just wasted two years and everyone’s getting older.”

Workers needed for third shift

The ability for Stellantis workers in Brampton to transfer to Windsor, and vice-versa, is included in the company’s collective agreement with Unifor, the union representing Stellantis workers in Canada.

“We have preferential hire language that allows people from Windsor to transfer to Brampton when Brampton is in hire mode, and the same the other direction,” said James Stewart, president of Unifor local 444, which represents Stellantis’ Windsor employees. “The fact that we’re adding a third shift at a time when they’ve announced no product today for the Brampton plant, for a bunch of members that have been off for 21 months now, there’s certainly going to be people interested in coming to Windsor.”

Stewart estimates there are roughly 2,500 unionized employees in Brampton that are eligible for a transfer, though he doesn’t believe every employee will make the move, adding there will likely still be many opportunities for new hires in the Windsor area.

Following Stellantis’ announcement Tuesday that it was making a $13-billion investment to expand its operations in the U.S, the company confirmed it would still be going ahead with the return of a third shift in Windsor.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the continued commitment to make Windsor a three-shift operation was the only good news that came out of Stellantis’ announcement the day before. The third shift will accommodate the production of Chrysler Pacifica, and production of the Dodge Charger Scatpack and R/T models, which have seen a surge in demand. 

‘Disgusting behaviour’

Regardless of the option to transfer to Windsor, the head of the local union representing Stellantis’ Brampton workers called the company’s minimal communication with employees “disgusting behaviour.”

“That’s not the answer for Brampton. The answer for Brampton is product,” said Vito Beato, president of Unifor local 1285. “The answer for Brampton was commitment to Brampton from the company, from the provincial and federal governments, not transfers to Windsor.”

Union representatives learned of the announcement to shift production at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, shortly before the company made the announcement public, says Beato. Employees at the plant were notified later that evening through a robocall informing them of the shift in production.

In a statement Tuesday, Stellantis said it does have plans for its Brampton plant, but won’t disclose them until after the company meets with the federal government. Representatives for Unifor say union members also haven’t been informed of any plans for the city.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the company is looking for a new model to build in Brampton.

“If they’re talking to the federal government about plans for Brampton, they should have Unifor in those consultations and talk to us about what’s happening in Brampton,” Beato said. “This is no fault to our members, our members deserve better than this.”

Feds threaten legal action

On Wednesday, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced she’d written to Stellantis CEO Antonia Filosa, indicating that Ottawa will exercise all options, including legal, at its disposal in order to ensure the company respects its obligations to its Canadian employees.

Two years ago, Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest auto manufacturer, entered an agreement with Ottawa and the government of Ontario for the Nextstar EV battery plant in Windsor, which would provide up to $15 billion in performance incentives.

Officials say the deal was tied to Stellantis fulfilling its production mandate in Brampton.

Regarding the company’s assurance that plans for Brampton are coming, Vicars says “talk is cheap,” yet says he wouldn’t think twice about transferring back to Brampton, despite losing his plant seniority.

Plant seniority allows employees to have a greater say in shift and job preference at the facility. Vicars says transferring to Windsor will result in the loss of plant seniority as well.

“I would transfer back in a second,” Vicars said. “I would 100 per cent to a very, very, very hard job and be close to my family.”