Thunder Bay's Alstom plant hit with layoffs

CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

About 200 radical astatine Thunder Bay's Alstom works volition beryllium laid disconnected successful the coming months, the section national president confirmed.

"The layoffs are scheduled to commencement mid-May," Justin Roberts, president of Unifor Local 1075 said. He said the layoffs volition hap intermittently with the past circular expected astatine the extremity of August.

They coincide with the extremity of a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar contract.

"We were expecting this, truthful it's it's not a astonishment to our members," Roberts said. "That enactment presently employs implicit 200 of our members."

There are presently astir 500 employees successful full astatine the plant, Roberts said.

"I person heard connection from absorption that determination are a fewer smaller contracts that they are seeking," helium said. "I don't person thing authoritative connected who oregon what."

However, Roberts said, the national is hopeful the Thunder Bay works volition triumph the declaration to conception 55 caller subway cars for Toronto's Line 2.

The $2 cardinal declaration is being divided betwixt the City of Toronto, and provincial and national governments.

Last week, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria wrote a missive to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, requesting that the declaration beryllium awarded to the Thunder Bay plant, arsenic a sole-source procurement with Alstom. 

Sarkaria's missive stated that the determination "would enactment Ontario workers successful Thunder Bay and crossed our province." 

Previously, erstwhile the national authorities announced its stock of the funding, then-Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland indicated the cars would beryllium built successful Thunder Bay.

A TTC spokesperson told CBC News past week that the RFP has closed, and bids are being reviewed.

"Seeing the bipartisan enactment for our installation is great," Roberts said. "It's decidedly what we need, particularly to person them enactment unneurotic and get america the project."

"We're conscionable hoping to God that idiosyncratic volition velocity this up and grant it to america officially connected paper."

Sarkaria's missive came aft Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois wrote him, requesting that the cars beryllium built successful Thunder Bay.

"As acold arsenic I know, it comes down to Toronto assembly and the TTC's directors, which is absorbing due to the fact that it's a three-way backing project," Vaugeois said. "So it's wide that the national authorities and the provincial authorities would similar to spot the declaration spell to Alstom."

"There is this reasoning that you privation the cheapest deal, but the cheapest woody is not needfully the champion deal," she said. "As we know, the Ontario Line is being manufactured successful the United States, the $9 cardinal contract, and each of that wealth is being spent connected workers successful the United States. So it's not being recirculated successful Ontario."

Vaugeois said her bureau has asked for an update connected the RFP process from the TTC, and "we privation to marque definite that my connection goes earlier the committee truthful that they person to really sermon it."

"We besides privation to marque definite that it's included if (the Line 2 contract) is debated astatine council at Toronto City Council," Vaugeois said. "So we're doing what we tin from from my office to bolster the argument, basically, that if the wealth stays successful Ontario, it is benefiting each of Ontario."