Stellantis NV is set to reduce its workforce by approximately 400 union employees at a warehousing site in east Detroit in the coming year.
The upcoming layoffs will impact all employees represented by the United Auto Workers at the Freud Street parts sequencing facility, located close to the Detroit Assembly Complex-Jefferson plant. Stellantis announced that it is shifting its operations to an external partner.
“As Stellantis navigates a transitional year, the focus is on realigning its U.S. operations to ensure a strong start to 2025,” said a statement on the layoffs sent by spokesperson Ann Marie Fortunate.
The company is persistently reducing its workforce and cutting back on vehicle output at several of its U.S. locations, having implemented hundreds of layoffs in recent months at facilities near Metro Detroit. The reductions arrive during a challenging year marked by declining sales and various operational issues, resulting in an accumulation of Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep vehicles at dealerships.
Last week, the company revealed plans to eliminate a shift and reduce its workforce by approximately 1,100 employees who manufacture Jeep Gladiators in Toledo early next year due to decreased demand for the pickups. The recent reductions have led Mobis North America LLC, a key supplier responsible for constructing the chassis for the Gladiator at the same facility, to declare a layoff affecting 210 of its assemblers and maintenance technicians in the upcoming year. This week, the company announced a “loss of customer order” in its notice.
During the spring season, Stellantis implemented layoffs affecting over 200 supplemental employees at the Freud Street facility, marking yet another phase in a series of reductions targeting lower-paid staff across the organization.
The automaker announced that it has provided a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, commonly known as a WARN notice, to both local and state officials regarding the layoffs on Freud Street. The announcement indicated that layoffs could begin as soon as January 5, with affected individuals qualifying for additional benefits alongside their state unemployment payments, totaling 74% of their usual earnings. Healthcare coverage will be available for a duration of two years.
Employees at the Freud Street location received a communication from the human resources team on Wednesday, acknowledging the “significant disruption” that has occurred lately and expressing gratitude for their “remarkable resilience.”
“While the company is making tough decisions to improve operations, the work in our facility will be transitioned to a third-party service provider in January 2025,” the HR message said. “I know this is incredibly difficult news to hear, especially because this will result in job losses.”