November 22, 2024

Stellantis warns union of 2,000 or more potential job cuts

By The Associated Press
FILE - People look at the charging technology from the Jeep Wrangler 4xe at the Stellantis booth during the CES tech show Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz, File)

People look at the charging technology from the Jeep Wrangler 4xe at the Stellantis booth during the CES tech show Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz, File) (Joe Buglewicz/AP)

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis is warning that it could lay off as many as 2,450 of the 3,700 union workers employed at a truck plant just outside of Detroit.

The job cuts would be at the Stellantis Warren Truck Plant, which builds an older version of the Ram 1500 pickup called the Tradesman, sold mainly to commercial businesses. The company came out with a new version of the truck in 2018, and for the 2025 model year there’s a new Tradesman.

It’s likely that job cuts will be lower than that because of early retirement offers that are under way already, and due to seniority bumping rights, said Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson.

Stellantis is shifting production of the new Tradesman to the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. So the company will lay off one shift of workers at the Warren facility, where the Jeep Wagoneer SUV is still built.

Tinson says the layoffs could begin as soon as Oct. 8. The company said indefinitely senior union employees that are let go will receive 52 weeks of supplemental unemployment benefits and 52 weeks of transition assistance. That’s in addition to state unemployment benefits an employee might be eligible for. They will also get two years of healthcare coverage, the company said.

The company touted the new Tradesman’s electrical system that allows for better tracking and improved safety, such as collision warning and adaptive cruise control. The trucks also have better fuel efficiency, Stellantis said, lowering the cost of operating them.

Last month, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares pledged to tackle the company’s problems in North America and elsewhere after reporting a plunge in first-half earnings.

U.S.-European automaker Stellantis reported that its net profits fell by half during the first six months of the year largely because of lower sales and restructuring costs.

The carmaker, which was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat-Chrysler with PSA Peugeot, reported net profits of 5.6 billion euros ($6 billion) in the period, down 48% compared with 11 billion euros in the same period last year. Revenues in the period dropped 14% to 85 billion euros.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain issued a statement Aug. 9 sharply criticizing Tavares’ management of Stellantis.

“The American taxpayer has invested in Stellantis,” Fain said. “Workers have invested in Stellantis. Consumers have invested in Stellantis. It’s time for Stellantis to invest in us.”