Over 300 Senator armoured vehicles made by Brampton-based company Roshel Inc. are part of a $2 billion military aid package to help Ukraine repel invading Russian forces. (Photo: Roshel Inc.)

Automaker Stellantis says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian armoured ⁠vehicle ​maker Roshel on a potential sale of its idled Brampton assembly plant.

Meanwhile, the union representing Canadian workers at Stellantis said it has paused contract talks, citing an impasse over the future of the Brampton plant.

Trevor Longley, chairman, president and CEO of Stellantis Canada, said the company considered multiple options for the facility, which has been idled since 2023.

“Stellantis believes that Roshel represents a strong path to restoring sustainable operations at Brampton Assembly, preserving the site’s strategic role in Canada’s advanced manufacturing sector and helping to avoid a prolonged period of inactivity,” Longley said in an emailed statement.

Roshel, which is already based in Brampton, is one of the largest manufacturers of smart armoured vehicles in North America. It’s $65-million Brampton manufacturing plant is where it builds products including the Senator armoured vehicle, which have seen combat in support of Ukraine since 2022 to aid in the defence from invading Russian forces.

Unifor is now “actively considering next steps” and said it will provide further details in the days ahead.

The union said in a statement that it had “reached an impasse” with Stellantis, and that the Brampton plant is “central” to the negotiation breakdown.

“Additionally, the company has yet to confirm forecasted plans for the Windsor Assembly Plant and Etobicoke Casting Plant,” Unifor says. “Stellantis has offered only conditional agreement with the economic pattern settlement tied to the closing of Brampton, creating added complications for reaching a deal.”

The current collective agreement between the automaker and union is set to expire Sept. 20 at 11:59 p.m.

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The talks began Sept. 1 in Toronto after Unifor ratified new collective agreements with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors in Canada earlier in the summer as part of its pattern bargaining process with each of the Detroit Three.

While the union set a Sept. 11 deadline to reach a new deal with Stellantis, it said Friday that talks had broken down after 10 days.

“The persistence of the company’s proposal to close and sell the Brampton plant has hindered the bargaining process,” said Unifor spokesperson Kathleen O’Keefe in a statement.

“The proposed facility closure and sale threaten the wages, pensions and other benefits of Unifor members. It also deals a devastating blow to Canada’s industrial sector, especially in the province of Ontario and the community of Brampton.”

She added there is “no economic substitute for automotive assembly in Canada, including the extensive supply chain, regional economic activity, and high-quality, union jobs connected to it.”

More than 2,000 workers were laid off from the Brampton plant when it halted operations in 2023.

Last month, the union said it received notice that Stellantis was considering the closure and sale of the plant. The facility had been slated to be retooled for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before the company paused the plan in early 2025.

It later announced it was moving production of the Jeep Compass to the U.S., in what the union called a violation of its current collective agreement, and leaving the plant idled indefinitely.

In addition to uncertainty related to jobs in Brampton, Unifor said the company has yet to confirm forecasted plans for its Windsor assembly plant and Etobicoke casting plant.

“Unifor has been consistent in its position that there will be no tentative settlement without a suitable resolution for Local 1285 members at Brampton,” O’Keefe said.

“The union has reiterated this position to both the company and government officials.”

Longley said Stellantis would not comment further “out of respect for the collective bargaining process with Unifor.”

Roshel is one of two Canadian companies in the running for a nearly $5-billion Light Utility Vehicle program contract, which will replace Canada’s aging fleet of wheeled vehicles like the Mercedes G-Wagon SMP.

With a value of between $1 billion to $4.99 billion, Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier in July that the selection had been narrowed to two Canadian companies – one of which is Brampton’s Roshel Inc., according to multiple reports.

The company signed a recent memorandum of understanding with Daimler Truck AG to jointly develop a family of protected and armoured military vehicles for NATO, allied, and partner-nation customers.

Roshel has come under fire from activist group World Beyond War Canada for its sale of at least 20 Senator vehicles to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid escalating violence and clashes with the public on American streets.

– With files from INsauga.com


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