Stellantis has decided to lay off an additional 191 employees at its Sterling Heights assembly plant by the end of the week. This includes 177 supplemental workers and 14 full-time employees with less seniority in the company. The UAW union has once again responded harshly to this strategy of the automotive group.
Stellantis announces further layoffs starting next week at the Sterling Heights plant
The Stellantis plant in Sterling Heights, also called SHAP, in the Detroit suburb, is responsible for producing the Ram 1500 pickup. Starting from this location, the Stellantis group has announced its intention to proceed with layoffs of workers represented by the UAW union throughout its production network in the United States.
The automaker has also communicated that supplemental seasonal employees will also be reduced starting October 1. In an official statement, Stellantis explained: “Seasonal workers hired to support production during the increase in summer vacations will be laid off starting October 1, in line with the 2023 UAW collective agreement.”
Regarding layoffs for full-time employees, the company stated: “Stellantis is in a phase of complete restructuring, focused both on protecting the company from particularly difficult external market conditions and on offering affordable vehicles to our customers. For this reason, we continue to make necessary decisions to improve efficiency across all our facilities, through a constant review of production processes. As part of this commitment, indefinite layoffs of employees represented by the union will be initiated.”
The UAW union’s response to Stellantis was swift, calling these cuts “another slap in the face.” “The decision shows that the company has lost all form of respect or consideration for workers,” stated the leadership of UAW Local 1700. “For them, it’s just a cold business choice, as demonstrated by the automatic layoff of 177 people without reason,” reads a union statement.
UAW President Shawn Fain also expressed his outrage at the group’s decision, accusing Stellantis of not respecting the agreements reached last year.