UAW blasts Stellantis over “disgusting” layoffs at Sterling Heights plant

Detroit – Stellantis NV on Monday laid off 199 workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which builds Ram 1500 pickups, a union official confirmed.

Michael Spencer, president of United Auto Workers Local 1700, which represents workers at the plant, said in an email that the layoffs are “disheartening, disgusting and insensitive” to workers.

The maker of Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and other vehicles also plans to lay off an undisclosed number of additional workers at its U.S. factories in the coming months to cope with the rapidly changing global auto market, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

“Trust me, the leadership here is going to fight like hell with the members and make sure they keep their promises,” UAW President Shawn Fain said of Stellantis during a Facebook Live Tuesday evening in response to members’ comments about the automaker. “And you know what? Stellantis is compassionate. Honestly, leadership inspires compassion. You have a CEO across the pond who wants to talk about how they need to cut costs and all this stuff, but it didn’t stop him from giving himself a 56% raise.

Stellantis’ announcement of layoffs comes as the company faces increased capital spending to make the transition from gasoline to electric vehicles. It has also reported decline in US sales in the first quarter, and has high costs due to a new contract agreement was reached last year by the UAW. Stellantis has approximately 43,000 US factory workers.

“Focused on maintaining business fundamentals in the highly competitive and challenging US auto industry, Stellantis continues to take steps to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing facilities,” the company said in a statement.

The ongoing operational review would result in “indefinite layoffs” over the next few months, the company added, which “will help improve productivity and ensure the company’s long-term sustainability in a rapidly changing global market.”

The company would not discuss the Sterling Heights job cuts or provide details on when the indefinite layoffs would begin or give specific reasons for them.

Spencer, the leader of Local 1700, expressed his deep frustration with the company in an email to The Detroit News.

“We are talking about families and communities that have been directly affected by a company that chooses to monopolize people’s lives,” he wrote. “To build a successful future, investment should be with the same people who make your products and profits possible and successful.

“Deception and lack of integrity is the behavior of a wolf in sheep’s clothing especially if you control the public narrative and choose not to invest in infrastructure, development and engineering,” he added, also citing the company’s mantra as one that puts “profit over people.” Automotive News first reported Sterling Heights layoffs.

Pickup sales were down 15% in the first quarter, with 89,417 being sold, compared to a year ago. Overall, Stellantis sales were down 10% in the US for the quarter.

The company has already laid off hundreds of office workers and additional workers this year, including in Detroit and Toledo.

Some of those additional layoffs, about 300, were at the Sterling Heights facility earlier this year, Spencer said. Stellantis had long relied heavily on low-paid extra workers to cover shifts, but since his new contract with the UAW was signed last fall, many of these workers have either been laid off or brought into full-time positions with full pay and benefits. .

A local union leader said the company has now said it wants to hire additional workers at its facility, “at the same time” it decided to place 199 workers on indefinite layoff on Monday.

“Make sense,” he said.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has said his company has to work to cut costs around the world to keep electric cars affordable for the middle class. Electric cars, he said, cost about 40% more than gasoline-powered ones. Without cost reductions, EVs will become too expensive for the middle class, shrinking the market and driving up costs further, Tavares said.

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