Stellantis Sells Idled Brampton Plant to Roshel, Angering Unifor
Stellantis agreed to sell its idled Brampton assembly plant to defense firm Roshel for an undisclosed sum. Unifor is furious. Here is who says what.
Stellantis said on Nov. 9 that it signed an agreement to sell its idled Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario to Roshel, a Canadian defense technology company. The price was not disclosed. The union Unifor, which represents the plant’s workers, accused the automaker of walking away from its commitments.
The sale is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to closing conditions that include government and regulatory requirements, according to the Stellantis release as reported by the Brampton Guardian.
What the deal covers
Under the asset purchase agreement, Roshel will acquire the plant and associated equipment. The two companies also agreed to set up a co-operation framework to explore future collaboration on vehicle technologies and related services in the defense industry, Stellantis said.
Reuters reported that Stellantis closed the plant in 2023 for retooling, then paused that work in 2025 and moved future production of the Jeep Compass to a factory in Illinois after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.
Stellantis said the sale fits its FaSTLAne 2030 strategy, which targets 80% capacity utilization across North America by 2030, according to WardsAuto. CEO Antonio Filosa said the deal opens opportunities in the defense industry and creates a path to return the site to productive industrial use. Roshel founder and CEO Roman Shimonov said the company plans a new center of excellence for advanced manufacturing at the site.
Stellantis said it still has a significant Canadian presence, including the Windsor Assembly Plant, the Etobicoke Casting Plant, the Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor and its CpK Interior Products operations. Apart from Brampton, it said it employs more than 10,000 Canadians.
Why it matters for Brampton workers
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said in a post on X that the government is focused on finding solutions for the more than 2,000 affected workers. Filosa said Stellantis remains committed to working with Unifor on a fair resolution “after three years of paid layoff.” The company also said it is prepared to negotiate a settlement for union-represented employees.
Unifor sees the deal differently. National president Lana Payne said the sale is a failure of the national auto strategy and breaks the federal government’s promise to protect autoworkers during the U.S. trade war. Unifor said it had been finalizing four-party talks with Stellantis and the federal and provincial governments on the company’s future production footprint in Canada when the sale was announced.
Vito Beato, who leads Unifor Local 1285 in Brampton, said thousands of good-paying auto jobs are being given up for hundreds of hypothetical jobs that depend on military contracts not yet awarded. Payne said Canada would also lose thousands of jobs in its auto parts supplier base.
Zoning and taxpayer money
Unifor noted that Brampton city council voted unanimously in February to amend zoning bylaws so the plant site is designated for automotive assembly and related automotive manufacturing. The union is urging Mayor Patrick Brown and Ontario Premier Doug Ford to enforce that designation.
Brown welcomed the sale, calling Roshel a Brampton success story, and asked Roshel to work with local union leaders on hiring and training for laid-off workers. He also called on Stellantis to repay public funding. WardsAuto reported that the funding was 529 million Canadian dollars, paid in 2022 to maintain production at the Brampton and Windsor plants through 2036 and an average of 4,475 workers across the two sites. Joly did not mention a refund in her statement.
Ontario economic development minister Vic Fedeli called the announcement deeply disappointing and said the province expects Roshel to hire as many displaced Stellantis workers as possible.
What happens next
Joly said she reached out to Unifor, Stellantis, the Ontario government and plant representatives to convene a meeting later this week, and that all parties must return to the bargaining table. Unifor said it also plans to meet with Stellantis and government officials this week to learn more about the conditions of the sale.
Payne said the union is not currently in a strike position, though it holds a strike mandate from its members. She called a strike a last resort and said the union’s priority is its members’ future.
Stellantis had declined to confirm or deny the sale when Unifor asked on Nov. 7, and told the Brampton Guardian only hours before the announcement that it had “nothing to announce.”
Sources: Yahoo Finance, Brampton Guardian, AOL
