Stellantis has plans to move the production of its Jeep Compass to Belvidere, Illinois, which is a blow to the City of Brampton, Ontario, a community that was banking on the company’s commitment to produce automobiles in the city, which has caused a major stir at every level of government and amongst union leaders.
Stellantis leadership has offered Prime Minister Mark Carney reassurances that there are plans in place for the Brampton, Ontario plant; it is just in the process of looking at finding a new model to fill the idled space once greater trade certainty has been established with the finalization of the USMCA, which is up for renewal next year.
Stellantis announced the move of production of the Jeep model as part of a US$13 billion investment in the U.S. that will boost production there by 50 percent over the next four years. The decision impacts 3,000 employees who have been laid off since Stellantis shut the plant at the end of 2023 and won’t return to work later this year as originally planned. The government is working with Unifor and the province to support the workers. Some will have the opportunity to fill some of the 1,500 jobs at Stellantis’ Windsor, Ontario plant as it adds a third shift.
Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a statement Thursday that the added jobs and shift in Windsor are part of the commitments the union negotiated with Stellantis in 2023 and are not compensation for the loss of the Brampton production.
The Prime Minister has reminded the company that it has commitments to the federal government under funding deals, including upwards of $14.6 billion for the battery plant that is being built with LG in Windsor and that the failure to uphold this agreement, including the operation of the Brampton plant, could result in consequences.
The company entered an agreement with the federal and provincial governments two years ago for up to $15 billion in performance incentives from both levels of government contingent on certain conditions being met, including fulfilling a production mandate in Brampton.
Stellantis said in a statement that Canada is very important to the company and that it continues to invest in the country, and reiterated that it has plans for the Brampton plant, but whether those will come to fruition is another story.
