Stellantis Looks to Stave Off Work Stoppage

With Stellantis poised to idle more than 2,400 workers at the Warren, MI, Truck Plant early next month, the UAW continues to search for a strategy that will deter the company.

"We have to fight if we're going to win this thing. The only thing that is going to stop this, the only thing that is going to stop corporate greed is our solidarity – working-class solidarity,” union President Shawn Fain says during a rally outside the Detroit-area plant.

 "We have to stop Stellantis from taking our jobs (out of the country). These are products that should be built at Local 140,” says UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English, who also is a member of the union’s executive board.

Stellantis appears to be feeling the pressure from the union as it announces plans to invest more than $406 million in three Michigan plants “to execute (a) multi-energy strategy,” which calls for the production of vehicles with battery-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems, and internal-combustion engines.

The planned investment boosts the company’s manufacturing base in Michigan but does not alter Stellantis’ decision to delay the rehabilitation of an assembly plant in Belvidere, IL. The UAW contends halting the plans for Belvidere violates the labor agreement the company signed in 2023.

According to Stellantis, $235 million of the $406 million investment will accelerate the retooling of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant and clear the way for the upcoming launches of the Ram 1500 pickup in battery-electric and range-extended electric variants alongside the ICE model.

UAW members picket outside Stellantis’ Sterling Heights, MI, Assembly Plant in October 2023.

As part of the program, the Warren Truck Plant, the target of the demonstration, will receive an investment of $97.6 million for adding electrified Jeep Wagoneer models to its ICE production portfolio.

Additionally, the Dundee Engine Plant will get a $73 million investment to support production of battery trays and new machining to complement ICE assembly.

All the investments are part of the company’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis says.

“Sterling Heights Assembly has performed an incredible transformation in record time, and I want to thank our colleagues for this great achievement,” says Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who has been accused of ignoring or minimizing UAW members’ contribution to the company’s success.

“Gearing up to build our first-ever Ram electric truck and the range-extended version in Michigan is a meaningful moment of pride for our teams. With these investments supporting both Jeep and Ram, we’re adding innovations to our Michigan manufacturing footprint to support a multi-energy approach that is laser-focused on customer demand,” says Tavares, who has made several statements in the past about the need to improve quality and reduce costs of the company’s North American operations.

Stellantis says it is investing more than $52 billion in electrification this decade to meet the targets of reaching a 100% passenger-car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger-car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the U.S. by 2030. To achieve these goals, the company is securing approximately 400 GWh of battery capacity, including support from battery manufacturing plants in North America and Europe.

The new Michigan investments fall short of the UAW’s demands, however. The union also has had difficulty devising a strategy to tackle Stellantis and its alleged contract violations.

Last spring, members of UAW Local 869 at the Warren Stamping Plant voted to strike over the company’s refusal to address health and safety grievances. The plant is critical to the automaker as it makes parts for a half-dozen other factories not only in the U.S. but also Mexico and Canada.

After the strike vote was taken in May, the grievances were quickly and quietly settled, according to both company and union representatives.

In a statement emailed to WardsAuto after the demonstration at the Warren Truck Plant, Stellantis indicates it is looking for accommodation rather than confrontation.

“As our industry continues to face unrelenting change, Stellantis has set forth on an ambitious path to lead the way as we transform into a sustainable mobility tech company,” the statement says. “With our commitment to executing a multi-energy strategy, we must continue to adapt by streamlining operations and finding efficiencies that will enhance our competitiveness and ensure our future sustainability and growth.”