Stellantis is launching an extensive hiring process to restore a third shift at its assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario. That shift, which was eliminated five years ago, is expected to resume in February 2026 and will require approximately 1,500 new employees.
This increase in activity comes as demand rises for the vehicles produced in Windsor.
Windsor, sole plant to manufacture the Pacifica and New Charger
The Windsor plant is the only assembly site for the Chrysler Pacifica—including the plug-in hybrid Pacifica — as well as the Canadian version of the Chrysler Grand Caravan and, for the U.S., the Chrysler Voyager.
The plant also assembles the new Dodge Charger Scat Pack and R/T powered by the Sixpack engine. According to James Stewart, president of Unifor’s Local 444, no other Stellantis site produces these vehicles.
Commitment to unions and market pressure
Stellantis affirms it’s honouring a promise made during negotiations with Unifor in 2023. The company says the return of the third shift is due to an anticipated increase in demand for the Pacifica and the new Charger.
The company thus confirms the addition of approximately 1,500 positions starting in early 2026, a move welcomed by workers laid off in recent years.
The shadow of Brampton and the Jeep Compass file
This announcement comes in a strained context: the production of the next-generation Jeep Compass was transferred from the Brampton plant (near Toronto) to a facility in Illinois. That change is reportedly linked to U.S. tariffs targeting imported products.
The move raised questions in Ottawa and Queen’s Park, which had invested in modernizing the Brampton plant and building a battery plant in Windsor. The federal government, led by Finance Minister Mélanie Joly, has opened a formal arbitration process to verify whether Stellantis is meeting its obligation to maintain a certain number of jobs in Canada.
A reoriented battery plant
Stellantis confirmed that the recently inaugurated battery plant in Windsor will remain open, but will now be used for the production of energy storage units rather than electric vehicle batteries, as initially announced.
Priority for laid-off workers
Previously laid-off employees in Windsor will have first access to the new positions related to the third shift. Following that, workers affected by the situation in Brampton can request a transfer, although unions anticipate few moves given the 350-km distance between the two cities.
More than 3,000 people had already applied when Stellantis launched a hiring call in 2023. These applications will be reopened if positions remain available.
Brampton: Temporary shutdown or long-term uncertainty?
Stellantis maintains that the Brampton plant is not condemned but has still not disclosed what it plans to produce there. The company promises to announce its plans "during additional discussions" with Ottawa.