Stellantis NV said Monday that 539 supplemental employees across its U.S. manufacturing footprint are being “permanently separated” from the company following an evaluation of operations.
The automaker said it notified on Friday the affected workers, who are part of a class of lower-paid employees known as temporary workers at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. The workforce reduction was effective immediately. Stellantis says the job cuts aren’t layoffs, and workers won’t be eligible for supplemental unemployment benefits.
“As part of our normal course of business, Stellantis regularly analyzes staffing levels at our manufacturing facilities to ensure they are operating as efficiently as possible,” the company said in a statement sent by spokesperson Jodi Tinson. “This action will help improve the efficiency, productivity and market competitiveness of our facilities as we implement our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan.”
The only plants not included are Trenton Engine and Dundee Engine in Michigan and Toledo Machining in Ohio.
The job cuts follow a series of other actions Stellantis has made in evaluating its costs as it undergoes a transformation to become a mobility tech company with electric vehicles that are more expensive to produce than their internal combustion engine counterparts and after signing a record contract with the United Auto Workers. Early this month, it said it was skipping February’s Chicago Auto Show to make the most efficient use of media funds. It also won’t have a Super Bowl ad this year. U.S. sales fell 1% last year in contrast to growth for the rest of the industry.
The new separations are on top of as many as 2,453 temporary layoffs announced at Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, where Stellantis builds Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, and 1,225 layoffs at Toledo Assembly Plant in Ohio, home of the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator midsize pickup, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letters to their respective states; the automaker had suggested the total could be much fewer, particularly in Detroit. Those layoffs remain effective starting Feb. 5.
Hundreds of those layoffs also were expected to be among supplemental workers, according to the WARN letters. Prior to the UAW’s negotiations, these workers made up about 12% of Stellantis’ 43,000 U.S. hourly workforce, the most of the Detroit Three. Supplemental workers obtained some of the largest gains in the new contract ratified in November, including a nine-month turnover to full-time deadline, starting pay of $21 per hour and access to profit-sharing and additional benefits.
A message seeking comment was left with a UAW spokesperson.
Stellantis in November also announced it offered buyouts to 6,400 U.S. white-collar workers. The company hasn’t shared how many employees accepted that offer.
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