Mayor Patrick Brown says he wants to know how many jobs are on the table now that U.S. automaker Stellantis is exploring a sale of its Brampton plant to a local armoured vehicle maker.
“We want to see details from Roshel on the number of jobs they are proposing and the timeline of their investment,” Brown said in a statement to INsauga.com on Friday following news that Stellantis has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brampton-based armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel on a potential sale of the Brampton assembly plant.
Brown called the announcement “disappointing news for the workers and families who have been left in limbo for nearly three years by Stellantis.”
“If Stellantis is truly cutting and running from Brampton, it is a betrayal of our workers, their families, and every Canadian taxpayer,” Brown said. “Stellantis accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in public support on the promise of a future for this plant. Instead, it moved production to the United States and left roughly 3,000 workers, along with the suppliers and small businesses that depend on them, waiting for answers.”
The company announced in October that the production of the Jeep Compass was being shifted away from Canada to the U.S., despite years of assurances that the Jeeps would be built in Brampton.
Canada launched a dispute resolution process against Stellantis after the feds, along with the province, pledged billions in subsidies for the automaker under various contracts. That included a joint commitment of $15 billion to help Stellantis partner with NextStar/LG for a new electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Windsor.
READ MORE: Contract talks off after Stellantis strikes tentative deal to sell Brampton Assembly
The Brampton plant has been sitting idle for years, and Unifor, the union representing the plant’s auto workers, says it has been pushing the company for a new project to get crews back on the job.
Unifor says it reached an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations with Stellantis after 10 days of discussions, with the fate of workers at the idled Brampton Assembly plant cited as the chief factor for the breakdown.
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Brown says that the City of Brampton “has stood with Unifor and these workers from day one, and that hasn’t changed.”
“Any future for this plant must start with them,” he said. “Roshel must meet with Unifor Local 1285 and work with their team so the skilled men and women who spent their careers on this line can continue building world-class products.”
Brampton City Council passed a motion in February preventing the Brampton Stellantis plant property from being used for anything other than the auto sector.
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