About 1,100 workers at Toledo, Ohio, Jeep plant face layoffs as company tries to reduce inventory
About 1,100 workers at the Stellantis Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, are facing layoffs early next year as the company takes further steps to cut high inventory at dealers
DETROIT — About 1,100 workers at the Stellantis Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, are facing layoffs early next year as the company takes further steps to cut high inventory at dealerships.
Stellantis said Thursday that the Toledo South plant, which makes the Jeep Gladiator midsize pickup truck, will go from two daily shifts to one as early as Jan. 5.
Sales of the Gladiator, the pickup truck version of the Jeep Wrangler SUV, are down nearly 21% so far this year to 36,519, according to Motorintelligence.com.
“These are difficult actions to take, but they are necessary to enable the company to regain its competitive edge and eventually return production to prior levels,” Stellantis said.
A message was left Thursday seeking comment from the United Auto Workers union, which represents employees at the Toledo plant.
Under the union contract with Stellantis, laid-off workers will get supplemental pay for one year that, when combined with state unemployment benefits, will equal 74% of regular pay. They’ll also get health insurance coverage for two years, Stellantis said.
The move is the latest action by the company as it struggles with high inventory on dealer lots in the U.S. Stellantis' overall sales have been down most of the year in the U.S., and discounts to counter high sticker prices that came after a poor second quarter didn’t work.
In August, the company warned that it could lay off as many as 2,450 of the 3,700 union workers at the pickup truck plant in Warren, Michigan, north of Detroit. It said at the time the number of job cuts will be lower
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