Stellantis this week informed UAW Local 1700 nearly 200 union-affiliated workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan would be laid off, as two separate actions.
The United Auto Workers union chapter shared the news with its members in a Tuesday letter, which was later posted on Facebook. Stellantis confirmed the details of the letter in an email to Automotive Dive.
In the email, Stellantis emphasized the two actions were being taken for different reasons.
“Seasonal supplemental employees hired to support production by covering for increased vacation usage during the summer months will be separated from the Company effective Oct. 1, in accordance with the 2023 UAW collective bargaining agreement,” Stellantis said in a statement.
In the letter, UAW Local 1700 said the supplemental worker layoffs affected 177 union-affiliated workers, and that the workers were laid off via a sudden “robocall.”
“This was our fear from the start when they began to rehire supplemental workers,” the letter reads, adding the union’s concern was that “not only could termination occur at any time upon the acceptance of the position, but it could be done without any notice or valid reason.”
In addition, Stellantis confirmed it planned to lay off 14 full-time union workers at the facility.
“This news caught us by total surprise since we are currently adding jobs in the plant,” the letter reads. “We immediately challenged this decision and all the details were immediately sent up to the International Union to inform them of this new direction that Stellantis is trying to go in.”
In a statement, Stellantis said it made the decision as the automaker faces “continued intense external market conditions” while trying to keep the vehicles it produces affordable.
“As such, we are continuing to take the necessary actions to improve operations across our facilities; this includes on-going assessments of our manufacturing processes to improve efficiency,” Stellantis said in its statement. “While that effort continues, the Company will be implementing indefinite layoffs of represented employees across its footprint.”
