Stellantis Scales Back Production at Windsor Assembly

Stellantis is scaling back production at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario due to industry-wide uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs—though the automaker still says a third shift is on the table for 2026.

Stellantis shared a revised production schedule with suppliers and Unifor Local 444 this week. The company confirmed a rotating schedule of one- and two-shift weeks, partial shutdowns, and a traditional two-week summer shutdown in late August as it wraps up 2025 model year production and gets ready to launch 2026 models, including the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager (Grand Caravan in Canada), and Dodge Charger.

“They’re not blaming it on tariffs, but it’s related to tariffs—there’s no doubt about that,” said Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart. “This wasn’t unexpected. They told us originally when Trump announced the tariffs there would be changes to our production schedule.”

The plant is idle this week but is expected to resume operations with a new rotating schedule next week. Stellantis is planning for the following:

• Two shifts: May 12, May 19, and June 30

• Only Shift One: May 26, June 9, and June 23

• Only Shift Two: June 2, June 16, and July 7

• Full shutdown: Week of July 14

• Summer shutdown: August 18 and August 25

Lou Ann Gosselin, Head of Communications for Stellantis Canada, confirmed in statement, “It remains our intention to return the Windsor Assembly Plant to a three-shift operation; however, based on current market conditions, that action will not take place in 2025.”

Stewart added that while the 12-week plan brings a bit of clarity, supplier plant workers—who don’t get the same supplemental benefits as Big-3 union workers—are in for a tough stretch. “It’s going to be a long, hard period for our workers at our suppliers,” he said to the Windsor Star. “We’re going to have some real challenges smoothing out shifts for all our members so they can all get some work.”

Despite recent hiring efforts for a third shift, Stellantis has paused staffing plans for now. Still, the company says it’s committed to adding that shift sometime in the first or second quarter of 2026—once there’s more clarity around tariffs and how the U.S. auto market shakes out.

Stewart summed it up clearly: “They’re not saying they’re pulling any production out of Canada at this point… but these decisions are being made because they’re being strong-armed by the president.”