The current automotive market conditions are putting the production of traditional vehicles worldwide in great difficulty. Stellantis recently announced that it has every intention of closing its Luton plant, which would cause great concern for thousands of employees. The decision stems primarily from a desire to want to focus more on electric vehicles, but that would undoubtedly also generate a major impact on employment.
Stellantis closes Luton and thousands of workers are at risk
Stellantis has announced plans to close its van plant in Luton, putting about 1,100 jobs at risk. The automotive group led globally by CEO Carlos Tavares said it is concentrating electric van production at its Ellesmere Port site, also in the United Kingdom.
This follows a warning issued by the company in June, when it was stressed that more measures were needed from the British government to stimulate demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Fears are growing among automakers that regulations introduced to accelerate the transition to electric may be overly stringent, putting further pressure on the sector.
Investment earmarked for other projects
The Stellantis plant in Luton is currently working on the production of gasoline and diesel vans for some of the automotive group’s brands. Expectations were that it would start producing the Vivaro mid-size electric van starting in 2025. Hence, employees at this plant will be catapulted into a critical situation when they thought they had their jobs secured for many more years with the transition to the electric vehicle.
This, of course, comes before the group’s proposal to close it permanently by concentrating its U.K. operations at the Ellesmere Port plant for which investments of more than £50 million are proposed instead. Rachel Hopkins, MP for Luton South & South Bedfordshire, published a post on X stating that the announcement is “deeply worrying for the town.”