Roshel Agrees to Buy Stellantis' Brampton Plant and Pledges Hiring Priority for Brampton People

Stellantis has agreed to sell its Brampton Assembly Plant and associated equipment to Roshel for an undisclosed amount, and Roshel's founder has promised to definitely give the first priority to Brampton people as it hires. That pledge lands on a workforce that has waited a long time, since more than 2,200 workers have been on layoff at the Brampton assembly plant since production was put on hold in December, 2023. Roshel did not provide details on how many people would be employed at the facility, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to closing conditions. Unifor, the union for the plant's workers, calls the sale a betrayal and accuses the company of acting in violation of the collective agreement. For Metaintro readers who build cars, weld or run assembly lines in the Greater Toronto Area, this guide covers what Roshel has actually promised, what Ontario's layoff rules say, and what to watch next.

What Did Stellantis and Roshel Actually Sign?

The two companies signed an Asset Purchase Agreement under which Roshel will acquire the Brampton Assembly Plant and associated equipment, in a deal made public on November 9. The price was not disclosed, and the sale still needs to clear applicable government and regulatory requirements before it closes.

Alongside the sale, the companies are setting up a strategic cooperation framework to explore future global collaboration opportunities across vehicle technologies and related services in the defence industry. For Stellantis, the move is tied to its FaSTLAne 2030 strategy, with the goal to achieve approximately 80% capacity utilization across North America in 2030. The deal did not come out of nowhere. In September, Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel on a potential sale of its idled Brampton plant, and Unifor paused contract talks at the time. Before Monday's news, Unifor met with Stellantis on Friday to ask whether the plant had been sold, and the company would not confirm or deny a sale.

Stellantis still has a large Canadian footprint, including Windsor Assembly Plant, Etobicoke Casting Plant, the Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor and its CpK operations. Outside Brampton, Stellantis employs more than 10,000 Canadians.

Are the Brampton Workers Laid Off, and for How Long?

Yes. More than 2,000 workers were laid off from the Brampton plant when it halted operations in 2023, and the count of those still waiting is more than 2,200 workers on layoff since production was put on hold in December, 2023. Stellantis describes the period as paid. Antonio Filosa, the chief executive behind the company's four-brand turnaround, called it three years of paid layoff and committed the company to working with Unifor on a fair resolution. The company also acknowledges its obligations to employees under the collective agreement and applicable laws and is prepared to negotiate a settlement for union members.

The plant was meant to come back. It had been slated to be retooled for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before the company paused the plan in early 2025. Production of the Jeep Compass is moving to Illinois, leaving the plant idled indefinitely.

The site has deep roots. Manufacturing at the plant dates back to 1986, and the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger were its most recent products before the last of those vehicles rolled off the assembly line in 2023.

What Exactly Has Roshel Promised on Hiring?

The newest pledge came in a television interview. Roman Shimonov, Roshel's founder and chief executive, used an interview on CBC's Hanomansing Live on Monday to set a goal of employing thousands, with Brampton people first in line. The pledge names Brampton people and does not single out former Stellantis staff.

An earlier and more specific pledge dates from September. Back then, Roshel was ready to provide letters of commitment for first consideration to laid-off Unifor workers and bring them back to work as early as 2026 through the federal Light Utility Vehicles procurement program and other automotive and defence work. At that stage, Roshel spoke of plans to bring over 2000 jobs, as well as new sovereign capabilities, including the production of ballistic steel to the facility.

Shimonov frames the larger figure as a goal. Shimonov told CTV News, we are looking and exploring different ways to ensure that we can create 1000s of jobs. Roshel did not provide details on how many people would be employed at the facility in its Monday statement.

Around 700 to 1,000 laid-off Stellantis employees will have opportunities to return to work under Roshel as the plant restarts, by Global News' count. Roshel is also not assuming responsibility for obligations made by Stellantis.

Our goal is to employ thousands of people and we'll definitely give the first priority to Brampton people, Roshel founder and CEO Roman Shimonov said on Monday, according to the CBC News report.

What Would the Plant Build Under Roshel?

Roshel plans to create a new Centre of Excellence for advanced manufacturing, which will allow Canadian companies to better serve customers at home and export into allied markets, in Shimonov's words in the joint release. The aim is to bring much-needed manufacturing space and jobs to the Toronto area.

Roshel is pitching more than defence work. Roshel hopes to bring in a major European automaker, which it has not named, and holds a letter of intent from that automaker, and in Shimonov's account the plant will not simply manufacture defence vehicles. The company also plans to lease around one-quarter of the site's space back to Stellantis for automotive work.

Roshel itself is a Canadian defence technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, specializing in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of smart armoured vehicles. It has over 2,500 vehicles deployed to Ukraine, and its in-house work covers ballistic steel processing, transparent armour production, armoured capsule engineering, drivetrain integration, and complete mission system upfitting.

The union sees a gap between that work and car building. Unifor National President Lana Payne framed it this way, Roshel upfitting trucks for the military is not the same as building vehicles from the ground up.

Roshel is also the buyer of a truck plant in Springfield, Ohio.

How Is a Military Vehicle Contract Tied to These Jobs?

The Light Utility Vehicle project is a National Defence plan to replace the in-service Light Utility Vehicle Wheeled fleets, which are the Mercedes G-Wagon SMP and Chevrolet Silverado MilCOTS. Its funding range is C$1 billion to C$4.99 billion (about US$709 million to US$3.54 billion).

The government timeline is long. The Defence Capabilities Blueprint's fiscal year timeline lists initial delivery in 2029/2030 and final delivery in 2033/2034, with the definition phase still in progress on the page.

The field has narrowed. The Prime Minister's Office confirmed in July 2026 that the project was restricted to two Canadian defence industry suppliers competing to deliver between 1,600 and 2,100 vehicles. Roshel is one of the two remaining bidders, according to Defence Blog, citing CityNews reporting. When the field narrowed, neither PSPC nor DND had published the restricted tender's award timeline.

The union's doubts rest on that gap. Local 1285 President Vito Beato frames the deal as a trade of auto jobs for hundreds of hypothetical jobs that depend on military procurement contracts that haven't even been awarded yet.

What Is Unifor Saying, and Could Workers Strike?

Unifor's November 9 statement accuses the company of going ahead with the sale despite being in violation of the collective agreement and in breach of commitments to the federal government. Before the announcement, the union was finalizing four-party discussions with Stellantis, the provincial and federal governments, and the union on the company's production footprint in Canada.

The union is also pointing to local zoning. In February, Brampton City Council unanimously voted to amend zoning bylaws to explicitly designate the Brampton Assembly Plant location for automotive assembly and related automotive manufacturing, and Unifor wants the mayor and premier to enforce that designation.

In Payne's estimate, closing and selling the plant cuts Canada's auto vehicle production capacity by 10 per cent. She added that once capacity is gone, it is often gone for good, and along with it, thousands of good union jobs and thousands more along the supply chain.

No strike is under way yet. Last month, Stellantis workers in Canada voted for a strike mandate with 97.3 per cent of members in favour, and talks between Stellantis and the union for more than 9,000 of its workers in Canada remain at an impasse. Payne's line on Monday was we're currently not in a strike position, with a strike still a last resort.

The reality is that thousands of good-paying Canadian auto jobs are being sacrificed permanently in exchange for hundreds of hypothetical jobs that depend on military procurement contracts that haven't even been awarded yet, Unifor Local 1285 President Vito Beato said, according to the Unifor statement.

What Are Ottawa and Brampton Asking For?

For Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, the sale does not erase the commitments they made to workers in Brampton, and she has reached out to the automaker, the union, the Ontario government and plant representatives to convene a meeting this week. Her focus is on finding solutions for the more than 2,000 affected workers and their families.

Public money is part of the dispute. In May 2022, the federal government agreed to provide Stellantis with C$529 million in funding to retool its Brampton and Windsor plants (about US$375 million). Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown wants Stellantis to repay taxpayers for the public funding it received to support automotive production in Brampton.

The mayor also put a direct request to the buyer. Brown called on Roshel to work directly with Local 1285 to identify hiring and training opportunities for laid-off Brampton autoworkers. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, the MP for Brampton East, backed Joly's call for a return to the bargaining table, posting that more than 2,000 Brampton assembly workers and their families deserve answers about their future.

What Do Ontario's Rules Say About Long Layoffs and Severance?

Ontario's Employment Standards Act guide treats a long layoff as a severance event. Employment is severed when an employer lays the employee off for 35 or more weeks in a period of 52 consecutive weeks, or, where the Director of Employment Standards has approved an extended temporary layoff, lays the employee off past the date the approval expires. A week counts as layoff when the worker receives less than one quarter of the wages they would have earned at the regular rate for a regular work week.

To qualify for severance pay under the Act, a worker must have worked for the employer for five or more years, counting active and inactive time. The employer must either have a global payroll of at least C$2.5 million (about US$1.77 million) or have severed the employment of 50 or more employees in a six-month period because all or part of the business permanently closed.

The amount is one regular week's wages for each completed year, plus a share for part years, and the maximum amount of severance pay required to be paid under the ESA is 26 weeks. The rules are a floor, since the rules under the ESA about termination and severance of employment are minimum requirements, and some employees may have greater rights under common law or other legislation.

Two details deserve attention. A worker who refused an offer of reasonable alternative employment with the employer loses the right to severance, and a laid-off worker entitled to both termination pay and severance pay must make the same recall right choice for both termination pay and severance pay. Stellantis remains prepared to engage with Unifor to negotiate a settlement to assist union-represented employees, so read any offer for its terms on recall rights and payouts.

What Roles Does Roshel List Now, and How Do You Apply?

Roshel posts openings on its careers page, which invites people from all backgrounds and experiences to visit our career page regularly as new opportunities may arise. Two older production listings show the kind of work involved. The Mechanical Assembler listing in Brampton, posted on July 7, 2023, asks the hire to work from provided specifications, drawings, and blueprints and to safely operate electric, manual, and pneumatic tools required for assigned tasks. That listing offers morning, evening, or night shifts along with medical and dental benefits, while salary rates vary based on experience.

The Welder listing in Brampton, posted on the same date, asks for at least 2-3 years of welding experience or equivalent education. The duties include welding metal assemblies to drawings and blueprints and helping install mechanical and electrical components and systems, and overtime is available.

Both listings take applications by email through the apply link on the Mechanical Assembler page and the Welder page, with a resume upload in pdf, doc or docx format. These are older postings, so treat them as a guide to the skills Roshel uses rather than open seats tied to the Brampton Assembly deal.

What This Means for Brampton Autoworkers, and What Should You Do Next?

The priority pledge is a public promise, not a job offer. The pledge is first priority to Brampton people, with opportunities for around 700 to 1,000 laid-off Stellantis employees to return to work by Global News' count, while the union's view is that the plan rests on hundreds of hypothetical jobs that depend on military procurement contracts that have not been awarded. For a laid-off worker, that means two tracks at once. Protect what you are owed from Stellantis, and get ready to compete for a Roshel role.

• Know your status before you sign anything. The Ontario guide explains how a layoff of 35 or more weeks in 52 can count as severance and how recall rights interact with it. Read any settlement offer against that page and with your union local's advice.
• Put your skills in Roshel's language. Roshel lists work in drivetrain integration and complete mission system upfitting, and its assembler role asks for work from specifications, drawings, and blueprints. Lead your resume with those tasks from your Brampton years.
• Watch the meeting this week. Payne pointed to a four-party meeting scheduled for later in the week with the company and government officials, and Mayor Brown has asked Roshel to identify hiring and training opportunities with Local 1285.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A hiring promise is a door, not a job. Get your welding, assembly and blueprint skills on paper now, so when the call comes you are the first name ready, not the last one scrambling.

Related Articles

• Europe Races to Add AI in Factories as Its Workforce Ages, What It Means for Manufacturing Jobs
• Canada's New Submarine Deal Could Anchor Thousands of Shipbuilding Jobs
• Defense Giants Are Acting Like Venture Capitalists and Reshaping Military-Tech Jobs
• Europe's Defense Spending Surge Is Quietly Creating Thousands of US Jobs
• Data Center Boom Has Employers Paying Off Student Loans to Land Electricians and Welders
• BMW Says Humanoid Robots Are the Future of Carmaking and What It Means for Auto Workers
• China's Overseas EV Factory Boom Is Collapsing, Taking Jobs With It
• Google, Ford and BlackRock Bet Big on Skilled Trades Jobs
• Laid Off by Amazon? Some Former Workers Are Being Asked Back for AI and Cloud Roles

People Also Asked

Q: Who is buying the Stellantis Brampton plant?

A: Roshel, a Brampton-based armoured vehicle maker, signed an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire the Brampton Assembly Plant and associated equipment for an undisclosed amount, with closing expected by the end of 2026.

Q: Will laid-off Stellantis workers get jobs at Roshel?

A: Roshel has pledged to give the first priority to Brampton people, but it did not provide details on how many people would be employed at the facility, and it is not taking on obligations made by Stellantis.

Q: How many workers are laid off at Brampton Assembly?

A: More than 2,200 workers have been on layoff at the plant since production was put on hold in December 2023.

Ready to explore? Metaintro brings together 50M jobs in one place. Create a free profile and start your search today.