Stellantis said it plans to cut about 400 workers at its Belvidere assembly plant, which builds the Jeep Cherokee in northern Illinois.
The layoffs will take effect as early as January 14, the company said. Stellantis sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) notices on November 10 to affected hourly employees, the state of Illinois, the city of Belvidere, and the UAW.
“As we continue to balance global sales with production of the Jeep Cherokee produced at the Belvidere assembly plant, which has been further exacerbated by the unprecedented global shortage of microchips, Stellantis has determined that further staffing is needed following the changes. in operations, “the automaker” said in a statement.
The automaker said it “will make every effort to place full-time redundant employees in full-time open positions as soon as they become available based on seniority.”
The plant had significant downtime this year and had already cut its second shift. The Belvidere intends to equalize before the chip shortage, struggling with downtime as the automaker tried to match Cherokee production with demand.
The Cherokee Sales in the United States this year they dropped 20 percent to 78,750 vehicles as of September. Third quarter sales fell 72% to 11,592 vehicles.
But there may be a lifeline on the road as Stellantis electrifies his lineup for years to come.
AutoForecast Solutions expects production of the Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars to move to Belvidere in 2024. These redesigned models would be on Stellantis’ electrified STLA Large platform.
AutoForecast Solutions also expects a new electrified Chrysler crossover to be produced alongside next-generation muscle cars at Belvidere on the same platform.