Automotive News Canada - April 2024 - 22

22
* APRIL 2024
Brampton layoffs: Slow, uncertain times
Billions of dollars in
investments indicates a
healthy auto industry in
Canada, but there's little
work at assembly and
parts plants that will be
down for as long as two
years to retool for electric
vehicles. Where does that
leave the employees?
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
ABOUT 4,000 WORKERS AT BRAMPTON
Assembly and related unionized parts suppliers
began 2024 on layoff as Stellantis
retools the factory to build electric vehicles.
The layoffs - most temporary but
some likely to become permanent - are a
sign of things to come for Canada's
auto industry.
Despite billions of dollars in
planned investments to build EVs,
employment looks likely to decline
through the mid-2020s.
Long term, there's every reason
to be optimistic for the sector,
but workers are in for a " period of
slow, " said Vito Beato, president of
Unifor Local 1285, which represents
hourly workers at the Brampton
plant and a dozen local suppliers.
Brampton is slated to be shut
down from 18 to 24 months, though
Stellantis is actively working
to shorten that timeline, Beato
said. The company confirmed
in November it will produce the
next-generation of electrified Jeep
Compass.
port seating-plant workers in Oshawa
through the end of 2024.
PARTIAL PAY DURING DELAY
Despite being on layoff, Brampton workers
- who account for roughly three of
every four Unifor autoworkers off the job
in the city northwest of Toronto - are in
relatively good shape for now.
During last year's contract negotiations
with Stellantis, Unifor secured improvements
to workers' supplemental unemployment
benefit (SUB) coverage, which provides
partial pay during lengthy plant shutdowns.
The two sides agreed that base SUB
pay rates would increase to 70 per cent of
standard wages from 65 per cent. The threeyear
contract also lowered the threshold
for worker eligibility for the program to
one year from three.
Laid-off members are already getting
SUB cheques, Beato said, and most workers
have enough seniority that they'll see
payouts continue for at least a full year and
in some cases as long as two.
The situation is far more precarious
for parts workers.
Beato: For
workers at
Brampton
Assembly,
" This is the
first time that
they might
have to look
for work. "
FILE PHOTO
In February, the union opened what it
calls an action centre to help members facing
an uncertain future get their resumes
in order, learn new skills or simply drop in
to keep their spirits up among longtime colleagues.
" A
lot of these members have been working
in these facilities for 20-plus years, "
Beato said. " This is the first time that they
might have to look for work. "
The Ontario government contributed
about $750,000 to help run the main action
centre in Brampton along with one to supOf
the 11 unionized local suppliers
that built components before
the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge
Charger and Challenger ended production
at Brampton Assembly in
December, most have shut down
temporarily or vacated their plants
entirely, said Paul Shiels, director
of Unifor's independent parts and
suppliers sector.
Parts companies typically lease
their plants, Shiels said. With up
to two years of downtime expected,
many pulled up stakes and will
re-site operations if they win new
contracts for the next vehicles coming
out of Brampton.
" Some of them are confident
that they're going to get the work, "
Shiels said, " and some of them are not
confident because they think some of the
work may be leaking back " into Brampton
Assembly, with Stellantis taking production
in-house.
Shiels expects it will be at least midyear
before suppliers begin securing commitments
from Stellantis, leaving workers
uncertain for at least several more months
whether jobs will be waiting for them.
In the interim, they don't have SUB to
fall back on. Some of Unifor's contracts
with suppliers include " retention lanWorkers
on layoff from Brampton Assembly receive supplemental
unemployment benefit coverage, which provides partial pay during lengthy
shutdowns. During contract negotiations last year, the amount increased to
70 per cent of standard wages from 65 per cent.
FILE PHOTO
guage " that will see workers get lump-sum
payments of up to six months of wages to
entice them to return, but there's no partial
pay to hold them over, Shiels said.
Unsurprisingly, the roughly 1,000 Unifor
members at idled or shuttered parts suppliers
are taking advantage of the union's
action centres with far greater frequency
than assembly staff.
EMPLOYMENT DOWN, THEN REBOUND
As the EV transition
gets under way,
Stellantis' Brampton
plant is just one of the
Ontario assembly sites
that will be retooled.
Assembly and parts
workers are staring
down similar fallout with
Ford Canada's Oakville
Assembly Complex that's
set to shut down in April,
Shiels said.
This downtime means
that even if EV supply-chain
investors continue
to double down on
Canada, the sector is still
in for some short-term
pain, said Ken Delaney,
executive director of
the Future of Canadian
Automotive Labourforce
(FOCAL) initiative.
" It's not like one day
you're manufacturing
an internal-combustion
vehicle and the next day
A recent report from FOCAL, a research
group partly funded by the federal government,
found that in all but the best-case scenario,
auto-sector employment in Canada
will decline through 2025 before bouncing
back in the 2030s.
The analysis weighs three economic scenarios,
Delaney said. One assumes that
federal and Ontario government policies
designed to attract EV investments succeed,
another tracks outcomes if the policies
stall and EV transition takes longer
than expected, and the third assumes the
middle ground.
Job losses in the Canadian auto supply
chain under the second and third scenarios
tally 10,692 and 2,816, respectively, in 2025.
If things break the federal government's
way, as in scenario one, the sector will gain
12,041 jobs by middecade.
Delaney:
Even under
the most
optimistic
scenarios for
the transition
to EVs, the
auto industry
- particularly
workers
- should
expect some
short-term
pain.
PHOTO: FUTURE
OF CANADIAN
AUTOMOTIVE
LABOURFORCE
you're manufacturing an EV, " Delaney
said. " There's a gap. "
" Canada's got a lot of skin in this game, "
Delaney said. " Our number-one and number-two
exports are oil and gas, and automobiles
and automotive parts, so if the
world is trying to transition to a lower-carbon
economy, we've got to get this one
right. "
Despite the initial growing pains, the
FOCAL analysis shows Canada is on track
to come out ahead in the long term regardless
of whether the EV transition happens
as quickly as Ottawa hopes or more slowly.
In the bullish EV scenario, the economy
by 2035 will add 117,094 net jobs, including
66,250 in the EV supply chain. FOCAL's balanced
scenario shows employment gains of
29,764 in the auto supply chain, plus 14,022
in the wider economy. In the bearish scenario,
job creation totals 9,491, with 7,660
jobs created in the EV supply chain and
1,831 in the broader economy. - ANC
Getting serious about diversity requires a plan
'No donation or press
release can develop
lasting bonds within
the Black community'
Automotive News
Canada forum hears
By GRACE MACALUSO
MANAGING EDITOR
BOOSTING BLACK REPRESENTation
within the auto industry
requires well-thought-out strategies
and management's commitment
to diversity, equity and
inclusion, according to a panel of
experts.
" I think from an organizational
standpoint, there really is no
way to hide from a lack of strategy
when it comes to DEI, " said
Keegan Henry-Mathieu, senior
retail account manager at RBC.
" There's no donation or press
release that can help you develop
lasting bonds within the Black
community. "
HOST
Stephanie
Henry
Henry-Mathieu was among
four panelists for
a March 28 forum
entitled Embracing
Diversity: Black
Canadians and
the Automotive
Industry, hosted by
Automotive News
Canada.
Auto specialist
and host
of CityTV's
Breakfast
Television
He was joined
by John Currado,
president of
taq Automotive
Intelligence; Shannon Miller,
project lead, workforce and talent
strategy, Ontario Vehicle
Innovation Network; and Smruti
Patel, director, specialized lending
at RBC.
" There's one thing that I've
learned over the years . . . there really
isn't any one-size-fits-all program
or initiative that can replace
the careful thought and work and
commitment that's required to foster
that kind of culture within your
own organization, " said HenryMathieu.
'BE
COMMITTED'
DEI strategies don't have to be
complicated, said Currado. At taq,
" our leadership mantra is we want
to be challenged. We want different
opinions, different perspectives. "
That means " we don't have
people who look the same or have
the same experiences across our
leadership; they're diverse, and it's
intentional. It's not complicated,
you just have to be committed. "
Henry-Mathieu said he does see
" evidence of progress " at dealerships.
" Many retailers have made
it a priority to address barriers
that exist for employees as well as
consumers when it comes to purchasing
a vehicle. "
One of those barriers is affordability,
and lenders must work
with retailers to implement financing
policies designed to promote
car ownership among underrepresented
groups, said Patel.
" It's our job to help our clients,
and give suitable, unbiased and
supportive advice as well as work
with our retail partners to understand
what flexibility clients need. "
Dealers and lenders can work
together to remove bias from lending
models, she said.
Miller advised employers to
network to seek out prospective
employees within the Black community.
" Networking
events were how
I got exposure to the entire industry
and the range of careers that
exist. "
Miller also urged employers to
monitor the progress of their DEI
initiatives.
They have to " be as committed
to tracking DEI progress as they
are to increasing sales or streamlining
production, " she said.
" If you're trying to manage your
progress, you need to measure it,
and that starts with data. " - ANC
Shannon
Miller
Project lead,
workforce and
talent strategy,
Ontario Vehicle
Innovation
Network
Keegan
Henry-Mathieu
Senior retail
account manager,
RBC
PANELISTS
Embracing Diversity:
Black Canadians and
the Automotive Industry
John Currado
President, taq
Automotive
Intelligence
Smruti Patel
Director,
specialized
lending, RBC
Automotive News Canada - April 2024

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