Stellantis says it’s offering a retirement incentive program to eligible employees at its Ontario assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton as it looks to cut staff while avoiding layoffs.
The move comes just months after the automaker committed billions to the factories, a new electric-vehicle battery plant and EV r&d centre in Windsor.
The automaker didn’t say how many people it hopes will accept the offer. Nor did the company provide financial details about the packages being offered.
Stellantis said employees will learn the details on Aug. 1 and have two weeks to decide on whether to accept the offer.
Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy, who represents thousands of hourly workers at the Windsor facility, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
In a statement, Stellantis said it remains “firmly committed to the future of its Canadian operations.”
Stellantis is pouring billions of dollars — a commitment of $8.6 billion so far — into Canada’s nascent electric-vehicle industry and, as of June, was halfway to its goal of hiring 650 research engineers.