Stellantis announced that they would be laying off an additional 400 workers at their Michigan-based facility this week. The announcement follows more than 1,000 other layoffs this year alone. The new round of job losses sparked outrage among the UAW (United Auto Workers of America) who have been in opposition to the mounting cuts at the company.
Stellantis Layoffs 2024
According to the Detroit News, Stellantis has laid off more than 4,000 employees since September 2024. The automaker laid off 1,300 workers from the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in early October and many more throughout the year. Just last week the company announced 1,100 more layoffs from the Toledo South Assembly Complex in Ohio.
The newest round of layoffs is set to be effective as early as January 5, 2025. Job cuts have become rather common and sudden at the company and tensions among workers have mounted considerably with the uncertainty.
Why Stellantis Layoffs are Mounting
The automaker has performed layoffs throughout the year for a variety of reasons. Namely, the company has made their mission clear: Become a sustainable mobility tech company with a focus on electric/autonomous vehicles. Dare Forward 2030 is their strategic plan to become carbon net zero by 2038. Unfortunately, to achieve this goal, the comapny needs to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, resulting in the elimination of thousands of jobs.
The company confirmed the mission in a recent statement, “As Stellantis navigates a transitional year, the focus is on realigning its U.S. operations to ensure a strong start to 2025”.
Additionally, the company has made operational changes that impacted their workforce. Production of many vehicles including the Jeep Gladiator have transitioned to one shift, meaning only one group of workers is producing at a time. According to Stellantis, this transition is necessary to provide consumers with vehicles they can afford in an extremely volatile market.
UAW Reaction to New Round of Stellantis Layoffs
The UAW represents workers in the auto industry and has a long history of negotiating wages and benefit deals for members. The organization has responded to the mass Stellantis layoffs with disdain. They issued a statement criticising the harsh job cuts: “This shows that the company having a heart or any respect is out of the window. It’s just a business decision for them”.
Shawn Fain, UAW president, has even claimed that the layoffs are in direct contradiction with the labor agreement they signed in 2023.
In 2023, Stellantis entered a bargaining agreement with the UAW and big three, confirming that employees impacted by the job cuts will recieve one year of unemployment benefits equaling 74% of their regular pay. They will also be offered transition assistance and two years of health converage. Regardless, tensions continue to rise within the union as uncertainty lingers amid ongoing changes with the automaker.
