Automaker Stellantis plans to suspend activity at a Jeep brand factory in the United States, citing difficulties due to the pandemic and rising costs linked to the transition to electric. Production at the Belvidere, Illinois assembly site, where Jeep Cherokee SUVs are made, will cease on February 28, the company said Friday.
The factory’s approximately 1,350 employees will be laid off. The company, which is considering other ways to use the site, “will work to place laid-off permanent employees in full-time positions as they become available.”
The unions defend a transition to electricity, a source of opportunities
The US union representing the auto industry, the UAW, criticized the decision. Products imported from other countries could be manufactured at the factory while the transition to electricity “creates opportunities for new products,” said Cindy Estrada, in charge of Stellantis within the union.
Source: BFM TV
