'Very scary right now': How Windsor's autoworkers are handling a tariff-induced layoff

Household chores, spring cleaning, and resting — that's how some local autoworkers who are off the job this week are spending their time.

But in the back of their minds, anxiety about their uncertain future hangs heavy. 

"This giant back and forth, and this not knowing about what's coming next, it's been really frustrating, upsetting, unnerving, like the whole gamut of emotions," said Derek Gungle, who has worked at Stellantis for more than 10 years.

U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 per cent auto tariffs sent immediate shockwaves through the industry last week, and the nearly 100-year-old Windsor Assembly Plant was among the first facilities hit.

Stellantis has temporarily shuttered the plant, as well as others in the U.S. in Mexico, while the company assesses the tariff damage. In Windsor, more than 3,000 workers at the factory, which assembles the Pacifica minivan and Dodge Charger Daytona, are laid off until April 21. 

The company said Thursday there were no changes to the plan to resume operations that day.

But some workers say they fear there will be more hard times ahead. Trump has argued the tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Industry experts have warned, however, that tariffs on North America's profoundly interconnected auto sector could damage it beyond repair.

"Working in auto, we're used to layoffs from time to time, especially for retooling and whatnot," Gungle said. "But this is a very different time."

Trump's constantly changing trade measures and rhetoric have sparked chaos in global financial markets. The unpredictability — and what it means for Canada's automotive capital long-term — has been one of the hardest things for Gungle and other autoworkers to handle as Trump has escalated his trade war in recent months.

"At times it could be, you know, at eight in the morning, there's an announcement by noon, there's another announcement by four and there's a complete shift in policy altogether," Gungle said.

"It's been an emotional roller-coaster for the last probably four months," he said.

Trump's latest pivot came on Wednesday, when he sparked confusion by announcing some tariff reprieve for a number of countries — but not Canada.  

Denis Desaulniers, who has worked at the Windsor plant for 31 years, is no stranger to uncertainty. 

"It's the life of an auto worker," he said. "It's up and down all the way through your career."