Unifor wants as many as two new models to be built alongside the minivans at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Windsor, Ont., assembly plant, where one of three shifts was recently cut amid shrinking sales in the segment.

Nissan has developed a way of producing carbon-fibre components more quickly and cheaply as a step toward deploying the lightweight parts in mass-market vehicles around 2024.

Should the Detroit Three automakers agree to the three-year contracts Unifor President Jerry Dias is going after, Unifor and the UAW would negotiate for new production at the same time.

The reductions are aimed at improving efficiency and are not related to rising costs from the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported. An announcement could come as early as this week, people familiar with the matter said.