About 1,300 retired employees of the former Budd Canada plant may be seeing an end to their benefits after the company that pays for them filed for bankruptcy.
The former employees of Budd Canada, later known as Kitchener Frame, may be getting a lump sum instead of their continued benefits, but it's unclear how much that will be.
That uncertainty has many retirees, including Michael Grace concerned. He worked at the Budd plant for over 30 years and was rewarded with a retirement package.
"Everybody that worked here worked hard…of course once you retire, the pension and benefits, you're not working anymore so you really depend on those things…I was really shocked when I heard this."
Before the plant shut down in 2009, Budd Canada agreed to continue to cover benefits for retired employees and their spouses, but that is now likely to change.
Last week, the company filed for bankruptcy saying it no longer sustainable to pay the benefits without revenue.
Mike Devine, president of CAW Local 1451, says "We've negotiated packages over the years for our people and part of that agreement is pension and post-retirement benefits."
He says the union is working with the company to find a solution.
"We'll come to some sort of settlement as we go through the proceeding, but it's too early to tell yet - it's far too early to tell yet."
In a statement to CTV News Bill Aziz, president of Budd Canada and Kitchener Frame, says "I am committed to working with these retirees and their representatives to reach a fair and reasonable settlement under difficult circumstances."
But Grace's concern is that 'fair and reasonable' doesn't mean the same thing to both sides.
"There's no way that they can calculate or foresee or want to pay anything close. If they wanted to pay the full amount that they would owe us, they would just leave the benefits on."
Pensions for retirees remain unaffected by this situation, and the whole negotiating process could take up to six months.
