Bad news for workers at Stellantis’ Warren Truck assembly plant in Detroit: at the end of Ram 1500 Classic production, the group will lay off up to 2,450 workers. According to Reuters, the cuts will be effective from October 8, the company stated, as the plant will shift from a two-shift operating model to one shift. The assembly of the Jeep Wagoneer at the same facility will indeed occur on one shift. As the production of the Ram 1500 Classic will come to an end later this year, Stellantis is shifting focus to the Ram 1500 Tradesman truck, produced at its Sterling Heights assembly plant.
Stellantis will lay off thousands of employees at the Warren plant in Detroit starting October 2024
“We have introduced the new 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman with incredible value and content. The updated electrical architecture enables new technologies useful for commercial fleets for better tracking and improved safety systems,” a company spokesperson stated.
Laid-off employees represented by the UAW union will receive 52 weeks of supplemental unemployment benefits paid by the company and 52 weeks of transition assistance, plus two years of health coverage. The UAW negotiated new labor agreements with Stellantis last fall, following a historic six-week strike.
Last week, the group said it had offered a new round of voluntary buyouts to its salaried employees in the United States, the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures that CEO Carlos Tavares is implementing in the company’s American operations. At the company’s Investor Day in June, Tavares cited weaknesses in at least two of its U.S. plants. UAW President Shawn Fain harshly criticized the cuts in a statement, calling Tavares “a disgrace and an embarrassment to a once-great American company,” highlighting recent disappointing financial and sales results. Following the halt of Ram 1500 Classic production, a Stellantis supplier has also announced a series of layoffs starting in September.