Premier Doug Ford says Stellantis needs to find a vehicle that can be produced at its Brampton, Ont. manufacturing plant amid concerns from the union that the plant may have already been sold. Ford said he spoke to the company late last week about the future of the facility. “We voiced our opinion. Create more jobs,” he said. “We need jobs there and we can’t bring in kits from China. Can’t happen. They think they want to bring them in. No, because that will bastardize the whole sector. Unacceptable. We need them to find a vehicle, a model, that works.” In September, Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel, a Brampton-based manufacturer of armoured vehicles, for a potential sale. Spokespeople for Stellantis and Roshel told The Canadian Press last week that they had “nothing to announce” about the Brampton plant. The plant suspended operations back in 2023, leaving more than 2,000 workers without a job. In a statement last week, Unifor said Stellantis has not confirmed or denied whether the sale has been finalized. “Further, it would not provide a timeline to address this question,” the statement read. “Unifor is interpreting this refusal as confirmation that the Brampton Assembly Plant has been sold.” The union called on the company to provide “honest information to its workers.” “Our union and our members deserve the basic respect of a straight answer,” the statement read. “Further, if the plant has been sold the union asks that the conditions of sale be made public.” At his press conference on Monday, Ford did not comment on the rumoured sale, only saying that “we need to get a (vehicle) model into that plant one way or another. “We will see what happens on this so-called sale to Roshel. We just need jobs. That is what we need,” he said.
