Brampton Autoworkers Face Tough Choices Amid Plant Closure

U. S. tariffs on car imports have created significant uncertainty across Canada as companies adapt their plans to manage increased costs.

This is particularly evident in Brampton, a city that had nearly 3,000 employees working at the Stellantis plant.

Nathan Reilly, who has lived in Brampton his whole life, worked at the Stellantis plant since 2014. He’s one of more than 200 workers who relocated 350 kilometers away for a job at the Windsor plant after Stellantis dropped its plans to manufacture the Jeep Compass in Brampton.

“I would have never thought [I’d live] this far out, London’s the furthest I’ve ever come out this way, but I would’ve never thought in a million years Windsor,” said Reilly in an interview with City News.

Stellantis employed around 3,000 people at its Brampton facility, leading to thousands of related jobs in the auto industry. The plant closed for retooling in late 2023 with hopes that workers would return by spring of 2026.

However, the retooling was halted and the anticipated vehicle production moved to Illinois. A few hundred workers decided to make the move and work at the Windsor facility instead.

Reilly, a father of four including a son with special needs, was among those who had to completely change his life.

Nathan Reilly with his wife and four kids. Reilly uprooted his family from Brampton to Windsor when the Stellantis plant shut down. Photo credit: Nathan Reilly.

“There’s a whole lot that had to be taken into consideration because … well, for one, my dad’s terminally ill, my grandfather, nobody else is around to take care of him,” shared Reilly. “And then taking my family into consideration as well. That was a bigger conversation that had to be had with more people, right? My kids weren’t happy about it.”

Vito Beato, president of Unifor Local 1285, also expressed concern.

“You’re uprooting families. You’re uprooting your lives. So very, very big decision for our members to make to try to maintain their work and 100 per cent of their pay,” said Beato.

A lot of workers should be back on the Brampton line by now; however “everything is uncertain right now … [and] during that whole time that we’ve been down,” according to Beato.

“There isn’t a car lined up, but we do have a negotiated contract that speaks to the Jeep Compass and speaks to the investment. And the company keeps saying, ‘Big plans for Brampton,’ so we’re going to keep pressing because they can’t just walk away.”

Stellantis has already received over $200 million from federal funding aimed at retooling both Brampton and Windsor plants. The City of Brampton recently changed zoning laws for land where the plant sits exclusively for automotive manufacturing purposes.

“The company can’t do anything there other than automotive manufacturing. So they can’t sell it and try to build homes. They can’t sell it and try to build townhouses; they can’t sell it and turn it into a warehouse or an Amazon [warehouse]. They can only build cars there,” Beato said.

Stellantis hasn’t revealed what its plans are for either the plant or land and believes it doesn’t owe any money back to the Canadian government due solely on jobs created in Windsor.

“Stellantis remains focused on a strong Canadian footprint and is actively evaluating future programs for Brampton with an objective ensuring that any investment decision is sustainable and supports workers and suppliers long-term,” read their statement given to City News.

While union efforts continue pushing for another vehicle assignment at the Brampton plant, Reilly says he won’t be reversing course back home anytime soon.

“I don’t think I could. I don’t think I can do that to my family now. Everyone’s going to be established here,” he said.

Rumors circulated about Stellantis discussing opportunities with Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor regarding potential assembly operations in Brampton; however Stellantis did not respond directly about these discussions or negotiations with other Chinese EV manufacturers when contacted by City News.

Additionally while all levels of government have been advocating strongly for Stellantis’ return; meanwhile The City of Brampton aims toward attracting new industries moving forward.