By Nora Eckert
DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler parent Stellantis (NYSE:) is laying off as many as 2,450 factory workers at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant outside Detroit as the automaker ends production of the Ram 1500 Classic truck.
The layoffs will come into effect as early as October 8, the company said, as the factory switches from a two-shift to a one-shift operation in the general meeting. Assembly of the Jeep Wagoneer at the same plant will take place in one shift, the company said.
With production of the Ram 1500 Classic ending later this year, the company is shifting focus to the Ram 1500 Tradesman truck, produced at the Sterling Heights Assembly plant.
“We’ve introduced the new 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman with incredible value and substance. The enhanced electrical architecture enables new technologies useful to commercial fleets for better tracking and enhanced safety systems,” a company spokeswoman said.
There are approximately 3,700 workers at the plant, represented by the United Auto Workers union. Union members who are laid off will receive 52 weeks of supplemental unemployment benefits paid by the company, and 52 weeks of transition assistance, Stellantis confirmed. They also get two years of health care coverage.
The UAW signed new labor agreements with Stellantis last fall after a historic six-week strike.
Stellantis said last week it is offering a new round of voluntary buyouts to its U.S. employees, the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures that CEO Carlos Tavares is implementing at the company’s U.S. operations.
At the company’s Investor Day in June, Tavares cited weaknesses in at least two of its U.S. factories but declined to name them.
(This story has been corrected to say Jeep Wagoneer assembly will be done in one shift, not two, in paragraph 2)
