The shift to electric vehicles raises questions about the future of Chrysler’s Brampton plant

A switch to electric vehicles is stoking fears about the uncertain future for Chrysler’s 3,163-employee Brampton plant, which makes gasoline-powered muscle cars that are being phased out.

Parent company Stellantis will stop manufacturing the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger in December 2023 and a replacement electric model is expected to be built in Belvidere, Illinois to take advantage of domestic subsidies for American buyers.

“We believe they are moving away from internal combustion variants and that will leave a gigantic void at Brampton,” warned Joe McCabe, CEO of AutoForecast Solutions, an influential US-based industry forecaster.

“I was the bearer of bad news with Oshawa,” McCabe noted, referring to the downsizing of General Motors Canada’s operations there in 2018 that he accurately predicted.

“And the end of production for the Charger and Challenger is December 2023, which is tomorrow in automotive talk,” he said.

“Our experience with the Detroit Three (GM, Stellantis and Ford) in Canada is generally a zero-sum game, so we believe Windsor will get a new Jeep product” that would make up for anything Stellantis does at Brampton.

Stellantis, the world’s sixth-largest automaker, is the recently founded conglomerate that includes Chrysler, Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Citroën.

LouAnn Gosselin, Chrysler Canada’s director of communications, said nothing has changed regarding the future of the plant since the most recent three-year contract between the automaker and Unifor was signed in October 2020.

“We don’t have anything specific to Brampton other than the investment (of $ 50 million) that was identified in the latest round of collective bargaining,” Gosselin said.

The labor agreement also included a commitment to work with Ottawa and Queen’s Park to move to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric batteries with “at least one new model in that architecture” at the Windsor minivan plant.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, said there is an urgent need for action in Brampton.

“The closure of a plant in Brampton means the closure of dozens of supplier plants that feed Brampton,” said Volpe.

“If that means cutting 3,000 jobs in Brampton, we’re probably talking 10,000 jobs at the supplier plants,” he said, “so it’s critical that Stellantis, the province and the federal government find a path to a new product. for Brampton “.

Prime Minister Doug Ford said Monday that Queen’s Park is “working hand in hand” with major automakers to try to attract an electric vehicle battery factory to Ontario.

“We’re going to be the number one manufacturer of … battery-powered electric cars in North America,” Ford said in Bradford, where it was promoting the 10-mile Bradford Bypass.

“We are investing billions of dollars together with the automotive sector to make sure that we will not only make the batteries here, but also make the cars,” he said.

“That’s … one of the biggest … programs that will reduce greenhouse gases.”

Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli’s office said the province is investing up to $ 4.3 billion in electric vehicle manufacturing.

“With world-class technology startups, manufacturing plants, and critical mineral resources, Ontario is uniquely positioned to lead the development of next-generation autonomous, connected and electric vehicle and mobility technologies,” said Rebecca Bozzato, Assistant, Fedeli. .

“Together with the federal government, we will continue to work closely with Stellantis regarding the future of its Brampton plant and to ensure that Ontario remains one of the leading auto manufacturing jurisdictions in North America,” said Bozzato.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown stressed Tuesday that Stellantis is “a great local employer.”

“From what we’ve been told, they’re here for the long haul,” Brown said.

The massive 269-acre Williams Parkway East installations, which dates back to 1986 when it was a factory for American Motors Corporation, employs 3,163 workers, 2,965 of whom are unionized hourly employees.

Unifor Chairman Jerry Dias, whose union represents auto workers, was not available for comment Tuesday. But in August, Dias said Automotive News Canada there would be “a war” if Stellantis tried to shut down the plant.

Natalie Clancy of Unifor said Tuesday that in terms of a possible plant closure, “Stellantis has not confirmed any forecast.”

McCabe said Ontario must diversify beyond the North American and Japanese companies that already make vehicles here.

“You have to bring in a non-Detroit Three company,” he said, pointing to China’s GAC Group, which is eager to have a foothold in North America and would likely be willing to overhaul existing factories.

The circumstances at Brampton are reminiscent of the situation General Motors workers faced in Oshawa three years ago.

GM announced the closure of its Oshawa plant in 2018 after years of declining production and employment levels, setting the stage for some 3,000 layoffs.

At the time, the prime minister said that he spoke to GM bosses about keeping the plant open and was told that “there is nothing we can do.”

But after a spirited campaign by Unifor, GM unveiled a $ 1.3 billion plant remodel to build highly profitable Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, the first of which went off the line this week.

Robert Benzie is the bureau chief for Star’s Queen’s Park and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie