Lana Payne, Unifor national president, said the union’s demands will include guarantees that layoffs related to the factory shutdowns and retooling for electric vehicles will be as short as possible. “If we can wiggle some more investment dollars out of them, we’ll be looking for that too,” Ms. Payne said at a Friday news conference at the Stellantis factory in Brampton, Ont.
The Windsor minivan plant employs 3,600 workers. Both plants have two shifts of production, and are expected to add a third after being refit, Stellantis has said. Mr. Stewart said plants in Ontario and elsewhere will make vehicles that will use the batteries produced at its joint venture in Windsor. He said the stalemate delayed the project by almost two months. “Construction is completely back on and we’re finding ways to make up, hopefully, that seven weeks that we lost. … We need that seven weeks back so that we can get batteries into this facility and others.”