Will Daimler rethink Sterling plant closure? No way, says OEM

TORONTO — They agreed to sit down and talk, but when the meeting was over, Daimler execs told CAW that, well, it’s all over.

The CAW vowed to fight to keep open the Sterling Trucks plant in St. Thomas, Ont. after Daimler Trucks announced last week it was eliminating the brand.

But after emerging from a meeting with Daimler’s North American President Chris Patterson and CEO Dieter Zetsche in Toronto yesterday, CAW President Ken Lewenza admitted that there was little he could do to change anyone’s mind.

To bolster the CAW’s pleas, federal and provincial politicians reportedly offered funding to retool the plant. The truckmaker didn’t go for it, however.

Lewenza told CBC that Daimler officials made it clear that "no money in the world" could change the fate of the plant, which will be shuttered next March.

Patterson told todaystrucking.com last week that production will not be shifted elsewhere, but other Daimler nameplates, Freightliner and Western Star, would adapt existing products to make up for the lost share in markets occupied by Sterling.

Production of some Freightliner and Western Star models will be moved to Mexico, however.

Lewenza denied that Daimler’s decision had to do with unionized Canadian labor costs.

He also said that the union would demand that the federal government intervene and say to the company: "if you want to sell in Canada, then you have to manufacture in Canada."

In the meantime, CAW is prepared to bargain a severance agreement for workers but it wants to discuss the potential for future product allocation instead of closing the plant permanently.