Feeder plants for Windsor Assembly could face potential layoffs as an aftermath of tariffs
Automaker Stellantis has confirmed it's shutting down its assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., for two weeks, largely because of U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles, and an aftermath of that would be potential layoffs at feeder plants.
Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart said that while between 3,000 and 3,500 workers will be directly impacted at Windsor Assembly, more than 1,250 employees at the five main feeder plants for Windsor Assembly can also face layoffs now.
Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart says for every Windsor Assembly plant worker, it results in around eight workers being impacted at the feeder plants that send the Assembly Plant many parts. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC)
Stewart said while assembly plant workers get Employment Insurance (EI) benefits around 65 or 70 per cent of their wages, the feeder workers "don't have any of that" with EI around 40 to 50 per cent of wages.
"Most will have a hard time getting through this," he said.
Emile Nabbout, president at Unifor Local 195, which also represents workers at the feeder plants, said the tariffs are going to create a "problem in the community."
"It's concerning, the feeder plants we represent … members are all nervous of what's happening. Every time the assembly plant is shut down, notice of layoff will go to our members here as well," he said.
EI reform needed: Unifor Local 195
Around 600 members at the feeder plants can be impacted, Nabbout said.
"We are in the middle of the election. We want all those political parties to make a commitment to stand and fight along the worker and the union to have a safety net and protection to the worker when they face those uncertainties," he said.
"Definitely unemployment insurance is one of the avenues when there is a quick and unpredicted layoff, then we would like the government to increase the benefit."
Emile Nabbout is the president of Unifor Local 195 and says EI reform is needed in these times of uncertainty to protect workers at feeder plants. (Kathleen Saylors/CBC)
Nabbout said it is "not a reliable income" when there is an interruption to work and asks the incoming government to eliminate the waiting period and implement comprehensive EI reform.
"It's very crucial in this election that we as workers, stand up and vote for a candidate who supports the reform for EI and enhances the complete labour issues that impact our worker every single time there is an interruption."
Nabbout said amidst all the tariff layoffs and uncertainties, EI reform is an important issue.
He said the weekly earnings need to increase to reflect inflation.
Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin said the company is "temporarily pausing production" starting Monday, with operations set to resume the week of April 21.
"Stellantis continues to assess the effects of the recently announced U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles and will continue to engage with the U.S. administration on these policy changes," she said in an emailed statement to CBC News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Automakers face challenges in managing software-defined vehicles at scale
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. NOVI, MICHIGAN — With the auto industry's shift toward building more connected vehicles powered by software continuously updated over-the-air, OEMs are rapidly moving from hardware-centric vehicle development processes to a software-first approach. This pivot also includes the integration of AI and adoption of a cloud-based development environment for software-based vehicles. However, to support this transition, legacy automakers still face challenges in data management and technology integration, according to a recent panel discussion on the topic at the AutoTech 2025 conference in Michigan. The panel, which was moderated by Maite Bezerra, principal analyst for software-defined vehicles at Wards Intelligence, included industry experts from Bosch, Stellantis, Toptal, and the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) industry group, which is working with automakers to expedite development of software-defined vehicles. SOAFEE aims to create an open source vehicle platform using cloud-native architecture that supports multiple hardware configurations. 'SOAFEE is really kind of more about bringing some of the modern software techniques to automotive software development,' said panelist Robert Day, the group's governing body representative. 'Over the last couple or three years, people are actually starting to do their development in the cloud using the tools, technologies and methodologies that are well developed and well used in cloud development.' Although adopting a cloud-based software development approach is a common practice for developers working in the tech space, it's an entirely new field for some legacy automakers. "The problem is the car is not the cloud,' said Day. 'It has things like safety and things like mutual physicality, heterogeneous computing.' The software development challenges for automakers also create the need for OEMs to recruit top talent to integrate the technology into next-generation vehicles, often from outside of the industry. Some companies are providing services to expedite such recruitment. For example, Toptal operates a freelancing platform that connects companies with in-demand software engineers and other technology specialists. 'We have a lot of partners in the automotive space,' said panelist Paul Timmermann, VP of product at Toptal. Stellantis is one of the automakers encountering the challenges of shifting towards SDVs for its future vehicles. "We [automakers] are always hardware first, and now the switch is happening to, you know, software, and then comes the hardware," said panelist Sangeeta Theru, director of virtual validation platforms at Stellantis. 'Tools, processes…everything is changing,' she said. Theru also highlighted the importance of training internal teams at Stellantis, adding that the automaker recently launched "big training on AWS cloud and architecture' for employees. 'There was a lot of effort in upskilling and training internal people,' she said. A major driver of increasing vehicle complexity is automakers launching more advanced driver assist systems and autonomous driving functionality using AI-powered software, according to the panelists. Vehicles with automated driving capabilities, for example, are equipped with dozens of cameras and sensors, generating "many, many terabytes of data" for a single car, scaling to "well beyond petabytes" across large fleets, explained panelist Steven Miller, product management of ADAS and technical expert at Bosch. 'Clearly you're not going to upload all of that data,' he said. 'The other even harder data problem is okay, what's the right data to upload to the cloud?' With rollout of more advanced autonomous driving features, automakers need to be adept at processing and merging extremely large data sets. One of these challenges is processing high volumes of vehicle data in real-time, as well as making it more manageable to transfer to and from the cloud. Automakers must also decide which vehicle data to upload to the cloud to train AI models. Therefore, the panelists emphasized the need for OEMs to create efficient data pipelines to manage this complexity. The panelists also foresee AI being integrated into other vehicle systems, such as remote diagnostics and infotainment. The use of AI will also likely extend to corporate organizational processes. "This is one of the most transformational shifts that we are seeing in the automotive industry," said Bezerra. The panel discussion also delved into automakers' adopting open source software with a higher level of standardization to reduce development times and costs. In November 2024, Panasonic Automotive Systems and Arm announced a collaboration to standardize automotive architecture. The two companies said they recognized the need for the industry to shift from a hardware-centric to a software-first development model to address challenges created by high-cost, vendor-specific proprietary interfaces for vehicles. While the use of open source automotive software has traditionally been met with caution due to safety and liability concerns, an April 2025 report from the Eclipse Foundation found a significant jump in industry appetite to use it for safety-critical vehicle systems. According to the report, 79% of automotive software professionals currently use open source tools and/or in-vehicle software for development, and the number of users actively contributing to open source projects increased by 4% from last year. The big advantage of open source is it provides a standard between companies, explained Day. 'If you're starting to use open standard or open source, it makes that collaboration easier,' he said. Day also highlighted another long-term strategy decision facing OEMs. "What would you choose to open source first? What would you actually keep in-house?" he said. Despite the prospects of adopting open source software for vehicles, the panelists acknowledged that some key areas needed more attention, including cybersecurity. This area is even more critical for automated driving and connected infotainment systems that can be used to pay for goods and services, such as EV charging sessions. Day raised a critical point about security. 'I don't think it's placed enough attention to, and certainly don't think [automakers] spend enough money on it,' he said. According to chipmaker Arm, a modern vehicle can have up to 650 million lines of code, and this number will only increase in the future. But software will revolutionize how drivers interact with their vehicles and redefine the relationship between OEMs and vehicle owners, according to the company. Disclosure: AutoTech2025 is run by Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Automotive Dive. Informa has no influence over Automotive Dive's coverage. Recommended Reading Panasonic Automotive Systems, Arm team up on SDV standardization
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Marelli Bankruptcy: Tariffs Crush Auto Parts Giant
The Wall Street Journal is calling it 'the first big casualty of the tariff war.' Marelli – the auto parts giant and supplier to big names like Stellantis and Nissan – has filed for bankruptcy protection. Most Read on IEN Ship Carrying 3,000 Vehicles Abandoned in Pacific Ocean Raccoon Break-In Snarls Airbus Jet Production PODCAST: Ford Sues Lawyers; Shoemaker Outsmarts Tariffs; RIP Penny Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi Known for its electronics, power train and lighting related products for the automotive industry, Marelli had reportedly been struggling with heavy debt and supply chain challenges over the past few years But when revealing its filing, company leaders identified something else. Marelli CEO David Slump cited 'macroeconomic headwinds associated with … tariffs' as the tipping point that caused the company's situation to worsen. Slump said pandemic-era supply chain issues restricted the company's access to both labor and parts, including semiconductors. The company, which invested heavily in the EV transition, was struggling with liquidity when fresh woes hit in 2025. Slump said Marelli was 'severely affected by tariffs due to its import/export-focused business and the imposition of tariffs specifically against automotive manufacturers and suppliers.' Marelli was formed in 2019 when a private equity firm merged 100-year-old Japanese parts business Magneti Marelli with a Fiat-Chrysler auto parts business. The resulting tie-up has 40,000 employees and 150+ locations in 23 countries, including the U.S. Marelli says it plans to continue operating after establishing a deal with its lenders and creditors that will bring in more than $1 billion to finance the company's restructuring. Meanwhile, the situation has led some observers to question whether Marelli is the canary in the coal mine. Bloomberg, citing the analyst firm AlixPartners, recently suggested that the automotive industry is the global sector 'most vulnerable to financial distress' this year. Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
BYD Cranks Up U.K. EV Wars with Dolphin Surf
BYD (BYDDY) just cranked up the heat in the U.K.'s small-EV market by rolling out its compact Dolphin Surf at a starting price of 18,650, undercutting most rivals and broadening its Seagull hatchback lineup. The Dolphin Surf slots in as one of the region's most economical electric carsbeaten only by the Dacia Spring and Stellantis's Leapmotor T03yet delivers a competitive mix of range, tech and build quality, according to those who've driven early prototypes. BYD's aggressive pricing comes amid mounting trade tensions that are already warping European auto-price dynamics and fueling fears in China that cutthroat domestic EV wars could spill into export markets. Industry watchers note that Dolphin Surf's entry forces legacy automakers and EV upstarts alike to rethink sticker prices: Renault's U.K. arm is reportedly revisiting incentives on the Spring, while Volkswagen and Hyundai are recalibrating lease deals on their small EVs. BYD's U.K. boss, Emma Lawson, argues that value can't come at the expense of quality, pointing to BYD's in-house batteries and dual-motor tech as key differentiators despite the bargain tag. Why It Matters: As more affordable Chinese EVs like the Dolphin Surf land on European shores, price wars could squeeze margins for everyonefrom blue-chip brands to cash-strapped startupswhile rapidly expanding EV adoption among budget-conscious buyers. That said, BYD finds itself in a tug-of-war, with the average 12-month target at $63 about 38% below today's levels. Some analysts still see room to run toward $85, while the bears call for a drop to around $41. Interestingly, the GuruFocus fair value sits much higher at $142.60, hinting at a few outlier bulls. After a peak near $115 this spring, the stock has drifted back, and the split in projections shows investors can't agree on where it goes next. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
