Jeep parent company Sterantis announced Friday that it will indefinitely close its manufacturing plant in Illinois, laying off about 1,350 workers early next year. The facility, located in Belvidere, a city 75 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, is responsible for manufacturing internal combustion engine Jeep his Cherokee crossovers.A statement from the automaker Stellantis blamed the cost of electrifying cars for travel.
“[The automotive industry] While it has been negatively impacted by many factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, the most impactful challenge is the rising costs associated with electrifying the automotive market.” said, adding that it may close.The facility will be in permanent use as we consider what to do next.
United Auto Workers Local 1268 Shop Chairman Tim Ferguson said: Reuters that Company documents show that Stellantis plans to move Cherokee production to its Toluca facility in Mexico. “For me, there is no question about it,” he said. “Their plan is to close this factory.” Stellantis declined to comment on Ferguson’s allegations. “We are not commenting on Cherokee’s future,” the company said.
As , Stellantis isn’t the first automaker to blame EVs for its recent string of job cuts. In August, Ford Motor Co. said at the time that it had an “opportunity to lead an exciting new era of connected and electric vehicles.” “Building this future requires changing and restructuring nearly every aspect of how we have operated for more than a century.”
It’s also worth noting that Friday’s announcement came on the same day workers at General Motors and LG’s battery cell facilities in Ohio voted in overwhelming majority. Unions in , , and other parts of the world recently called on Stellantis to raise workers’ wages by up to 8.5% following a year of record global inflation. At , Stellantis said sales increased to his €42.1 billion (about $44 billion), a 29% increase from the same period last year.
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