TORONTO — Stellantis has signed a memorandum of understanding to sell its idle Brampton assembly plant to Brampton-based armoured-vehicle maker Roshel, and Unifor’s contract covering that plant, Windsor Assembly and Etobicoke Casting expires at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Formal bargaining has been paused since Sept. 11, when the company confirmed the Roshel memorandum of understanding at the table.The plant has not built a vehicle since December 2023, when it was shut to retool for the Jeep Compass. That work was paused in February 2025, and in October 2025 Stellantis moved Compass production to the United States after Washington imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian-built cars, leaving about 2,200 Unifor Local 1285 members on layoff. Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley has since told workers there is “no long-term business case” for making vehicles at Brampton.Unifor national president Lana Payne said Thursday the company is “100% serious about exiting Brampton” and that talks will not resume until Ottawa makes clear it will not allow a closure and sale. She told reporters, “Don’t close, don’t sell,” and said a defence contract at the site is not a substitute for high-volume auto assembly. Sunday is not a strike deadline; the parties remain in conciliation under Ontario labour law, and Unifor has not set a legal strike date..The sale fight is also a taxpayer file. Ottawa put public money into the Brampton retool and has said a sale would put Stellantis in breach of that funding deal. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said this week the federal government wants a new Stellantis model in Brampton and will “get our money back” if that does not happen. Premier Doug Ford said at a Toronto event Wednesday that Ontario “has not given Stellantis a penny for the Brampton facility,” while still pressing for a new vehicle and noting Stellantis remains the province’s largest auto employer.No sale price or close date has been released. Roshel founder Roman Shimonov has described the MOU as the first step in a complicated process and said he wants to use the site for light utility vehicles tied to federal defence procurement. Stellantis has not issued the one-year written closure notice required under the current collective agreement.
