Stellantis said Wednesday it has temporarily laid off 68 workers at its Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, due to “storage constraints” as the automaker deals with the impacts of the United Auto Worker union strike on its manufacturing operations. All other production at the facility will continue, the automaker said in a statement.
It’s the first round of layoffs at Stellantis since the UAW strike began last Friday.
The Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex was one of the first Big Three plants the UAW targeted in its strike that began last Friday. The plant assembles the popular Jeep Wrangler. However, Stellantis said it could soon lay off about 300 more workers at its Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting plants in Kokomo, Indiana.
“Stellantis continues to closely monitor the impact of the UAW strike action on our manufacturing operations,” the automaker said in a statement.
In addition to the layoff announcement at Stellantis, General Motors idled operations on Wednesday at its Fairfax Assembly and Stamping plant in Kansas City, Kansas, due to parts shortages caused by an ongoing strike at GM’s Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri, according to The Detroit News. The plant has over 2,200 workers.
Last Friday, Ford temporarily laid off roughly 600 employees at its Michigan Assembly Plant after the UAW directed members to strike at the plant’s paint and final assembly department.
For the first time in its history, the UAW is striking the Big Three automakers all at once, breaking from its pattern-bargaining strategy in the past. The strike initially targeted three plants operated by GM, Stellantis and Ford and involved over 12,700 UAW workers.
In addition to the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, the UAW directed members to strike at GM’s Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri, which builds the Chevrolet Canyon and GMC Canyon pickup trucks, and Ford’s Michigan facility, where the automaker assembles the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup.
The UAW said Monday more auto workers would strike at noon Friday if “substantial progress” is not made towards an agreement in the contract negotiations with GM, Stellantis and Ford.
“Autoworkers have waited long enough to make things right at the Big Three. We’re not waiting around, and we’re not messing around,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video message Sept. 18.
