Through the third quarter of this year, sales of Jeep Cherokee Going down a whopping 61% year-to-date compared to last year, with just 30,852 units sold in the first nine months of 2022, according to Stellantis. That was the backdrop for an announcement on Friday that Stellantis would shut down its Cherokees manufacturing plant, in Belvidere, Illinois. Could it also be the end of the road for the Cherokee? For now, Stellantis is not speaking.
Via WIFRStellantis released the following statement:
Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and global microchip shortages, but the biggest challenge has been the increasing costs associated with electricity. gasification of the automotive market.
Stellantis has taken several actions to stabilize production and improve efficiency at its North American facilities in order to maintain affordability and customer satisfaction on quality.
While considering other ways to optimize operations, Stellantis has taken the decision to decommission its Belvidere (Illinois) assembly plant effective February 28, 2023.
This difficult but necessary action will result in indefinite layoffs, which are expected to last for more than six months and may result in job loss under the Worker Adjustment Notice and Retraining Act. (WARN). As a result, WARN notices were made available to both hourly and salaried employees. The Company will make every effort to place employees who are laid off indefinitely into full-time positions that are available when they become employed.
The company is also working to identify other opportunities to reuse the Belvidere facility and has no further details to share at this time.
The UAW, which represents workers at the factory, also released a statement, and they were quite angry:
“We are all deeply outraged by Stellantis’ decision to shut down Belvidere assembly plant with no plans for future product,” said UAW Vice President and Head of Stellantis Division, Cindy Estrada said. “There are many vehicle platforms imported from other countries that can be built in Belvidere with the skill and quality of the UAW members in Belvidere. The transition to electrification also creates opportunities for new products. Companies like Stellantis receive billions of dollars in government incentives to transition to clean energy. It would be an insult to all taxpayers if they didn’t reinvest that money back into our community.”
UAW President Ray Curry added: “We believe Stellantis made a grave mistake in idling this plant, which has been profitable for the company since 1965. “No product allocation. new for factories like Belvidere is unacceptable. The announcement of the closure just weeks before the holiday season is also a cruel disregard for the contributions of our members from UAW Locals 1268 and 1761. We will fight this announcement.”
According to a Stellantis spokesperson, about 1,350 employees work at Belvidere, employees who are probably very worried about their futures, a story that has played out across M.idwest repeats itself for decades now, as automakers have closed factories and left communities shattered in their wake.
It is as recent like 2016 when Stellantis announced that it will invest $350 million in Belvidere . plant to help create the Cherokee, although it’s been almost nothing but bad news for Belvidere, given the wave of layoffs over the past few years, even earlier this year. Those come amid supply-chain problems like every automaker has been facing in recent years, but they also happen because Cherokee sales have simply declined. .
For now, Stellantis isn’t saying whether Cherokee will leave with the plant down, but they’re not saying exactly they won’t either. As of now, a Stellantis spokesperson has this to say:
We do not comment on the future of Cherokee nameplates. This is an important vehicle in the lineup and we remain committed to this mid-size SUV segment for a long time.
