The president of Unifor Local 444 says the deciding factor for the shutdown at the Windsor Assembly Plant is due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Speaking on AM800's Mornings with Mike and Meg, local 444 president James Stewart says there were rumours about a plant shutdown prior to Wednesday's announcement but after speaking with Stellantis officials Wednesday night, they said the deciding factor was the tariffs.
He says Stellantis made its decision following Trump's announcement.
"There were rumours and yes we had heard about some potential downtime but the company notified us yesterday that the final decision came after Trump's announcement," says Stewart. "They said temporarily it's a two week shutdown but they expect changes to our schedule after that but they're reassessing the situation over the couple of weeks.
Stewart says himself, Unifor National President Lana Payne and the plant chairperson at the Windsor Assembly Plant spoke with company officials around 7 p.m.
"They're shuttering Windsor Assembly Plant, they're shuttering some plants in Mexico temporarily and ultimately some feeder plants and stamping plants in the United States as a result of the announcements," says Stewart.
He says the union will do everything it can, to make sure companies commit to Canada.
"All we can do is keep doing what we have been doing," he says. "Making sure we're talking with the company, make sure they understand they have a commitment to Canadian workers, making sure we're talking to the politicians on both sides of the border. Making sure they understand that Canada is not the jurisdiction that has stolen jobs from the states, that's just false."
Stellantis has said the Windsor Assembly Plant will be shut down the weeks of April 7 and April 14.
The company says operations will resume the week of April 21.
Stellantis has also announced pausing production at the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexcio for the month of April and temporarily laying off workers at plants in Michigan and Indiana.
The automaker says 900 U.S. employees will be temporarily laid off.