Stellantis to Halt Windsor Minivan and Charger Production for One Week
3,800 Workers Temporarily Laid Off as Stellantis Reacts to U.S. Tariff Fallout
Stellantis will pause production at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, for the week of May 5, temporarily laying off about 3,800 workers. The announcement came in an official notice sent Thursday to Unifor members—the union representing hourly employees at the plant.
This is the second time in just over a month that production has been halted at the facility, which builds the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Grand Caravan, Chrysler Voyager, and both the gas-powered Dodge Charger and electric Charger Daytona. Stellantis had previously shut the plant down for two weeks in April to evaluate the impact of new 25% U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles.
The tariffs, introduced by the Trump administration on April 3, apply to vehicles with a significant amount of non-U.S. content. They’ve already shaken up the North American auto industry, especially for companies like Stellantis that rely on cross-border production.
James Stewart, President of Unifor Local 444, said Stellantis hasn’t provided a direct reason for this latest production pause. “We are meeting with them next week to determine what the future production schedule may look like,” Stewart said.
A Stellantis spokesperson, LouAnn Gosselin, framed the shutdown as part of normal model-year transition planning. “As a result, the plant will observe a down week the week of May 5. We will continue to monitor the situation,” she stated.
But behind the scenes, it’s clear the broader trade environment is weighing heavily. During the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, Stellantis CFO Doug Ostermann acknowledged that the automaker is actively looking at relocating some production and supply chains to the U.S. to avoid the steep import duties.
“It’s something that we’re working very hard on,” said Ostermann. “To think through how quickly can we make those changes to mitigate any tariff impacts?”
Meanwhile, workers at the Windsor plant—many of whom were just called back from a two-week layoff in April—are once again facing an uncertain week ahead. With both minivan and Charger output affected, this could be a sign of bigger shifts coming for Stellantis’ North American operations.
