Stellantis Delays Reopening Belvidere Plant Amid UAW Tensions

Automaker Ensures That It Hasn't Canceled Plans, But Is Delaying Them...

Robert S. Miller August 20, 2024

Exterior of the Belvidere Assembly Plant. (Stellantis).

Stellantis has confirmed that it will delay—though not cancel—plans to reopen its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. The announcement comes amid growing tensions with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, particularly following UAW President Shawn Fain’s recent video address and his remarks at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The plant, which was slated to play a significant role in Stellantis’ electric vehicle (EV) production, is now facing an uncertain future.

Background on the Belvidere Plant –

The Belvidere Assembly Plant, which was previously home to the 2023 Jeep® Cherokee (KL), has been at the center of negotiations between Stellantis and the UAW. Under the 2023 UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement, Stellantis committed to reopening the plant with a focus on EV production. This included plans for a new electric midsize pickup truck, an EV battery plant, and a mega parts hub, which were seen as major wins for the union.

However, Stellantis recently announced that these plans would be delayed. The company cited market conditions as the primary reason for the delay, emphasizing the need to ensure future competitiveness and sustainability. “To ensure the company’s future competitiveness and sustainability, which are necessary to preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs, the business case for all investments must be aligned with market conditions and our ability to accommodate a wide range of consumer demands. Therefore, the company confirms it has notified the UAW that plans for Belvidere will be delayed but firmly stands by its commitment,” Stellantis stated.

UAW’s Response –

The delay has sparked a strong reaction from the UAW. In a video address last week, UAW President Shawn Fain criticized Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, blaming the company’s leadership for the issues at Belvidere rather than market conditions. Fain argued that other automakers, such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, have not experienced the same downturn in sales as Stellantis.

Fain also addressed the DNC, where he called out Stellantis for not honoring its commitments. “They’ve backed that date up outside of our expiration of our contract now, which means we bargained for nothing. Because once the contract expires, there is no contract, and at that point, you know all bets are off. So we expect them to honor the commitment that they made, and if they don’t, we put language in this agreement so that we could hold them accountable, and we intend to do it,” Fain said.

Stellantis’ Stance –

The last 2023 Jeep® Cherokee Altitude Lux 4×4 at Belvidere.

Stellantis has strongly denied any wrongdoing, stating that it has not violated its commitments under the UAW contract. “The company has not violated the commitments made in the Investment Letter included in the 2023 UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement and strongly objects to the union’s accusations. In fact, the UAW agreed to language that expressly allows the company to modify product investments and employment levels. Therefore, the union cannot legally strike over a violation of this letter at this time,” Stellantis said in a press release on Tuesday.

Stellantis emphasized its commitment to engaging in a productive and respectful dialogue with the union, but the two sides continue to present conflicting narratives. The union maintains that Stellantis has been “unreceptive in talks” and has gone back on its commitments at Belvidere.

The Biden Administration’s Role –

The delay also puts Stellantis in a potentially precarious position regarding federal funding. Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to award Stellantis $334.8 million to convert the Belvidere plant for EV production, along with $250 million to convert its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo, Indiana, for EV components. However, the DOE has stated that these awards are not final and could be rescinded during negotiations.

As the situation unfolds, the fate of the Belvidere Assembly Plant remains uncertain. With the UAW threatening a potential strike and Stellantis holding firm on its decision to delay the plant’s reopening, the coming months will be critical for both the company and its workers.

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B BWS1 Aug 20, 2024 #1

This all leads back to the basic premise : the only job security is a product that sells. That’s for any employee top to bottom. In pretty much any industry. And therefore I feel for those employed by Snailspace- anthills. One other take away from this: no new midsize pu til who knows when. By that time the market should be completely saturated with competitive products and ma- snail will be ready to jump right in.

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redriderbob Aug 20, 2024 #2

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M Mike201 Aug 21, 2024 #3

Well like always, the Dems are blowing smoke up the UAW’s assss to get votes. They (the Biden/Harris administration) has done nothing to keep jobs here in the US. Yet the UAW believes they have done so much. The Dems plans for EV’s will run more car manufacturers in jobs south. When the heck will they wake up. Me. Ford and Mr. Chrysler must be rolling around in their graves.

vbondjr1 Aug 21, 2024 #4

Although I'm not a fan of Fein or Carlos, both sides may have a slight point to their beef with each other. UAW wants to keep people working I can understand that. A plant that is shut down means workers out of work. I get that and I can honestly respect that. The biggest issue is this EV nonsense. The UAW and the Biden/Harris admin need to figure it out that if they want to keep things moving, stop putting so much emphasis on EVs and start pushing hybrids. Yeah, as much as we love them, we can deal without V8s for the most part but the Auto industry really needs to focus on their customers more than anything else. As it stands, the big three could drop every single V8 engine on the market and switch to hybrids and 4 & 6-cylinder turbo cars and everything would be fine. Let's look at it like this and this is from an enthusiast's stand point. Stellantis now has the Hurricane engines and in production form, the Hurricane 3.0L I-6 twin turbo H/O can produce 550hp/531lb-ft of torque without ever being tuned aftermarket. Ford's 3.5L Ecoboost V6 in a pickup truck makes 450hp and 500lb-ft of torque, a number that jumps to around 660hp/550tq in the Ford GT supercar (somewhere in that ballpark). In the Raptor, that engine makes more horsepower and torque than most 5-liter Mustang GTs up until the last four years or so and still beats even the Dark Horse GT in torque by a long shot!. The 3.0L Hurricane makes what 415hp/400tq or something like that. That's more than the 412hp/390tq the first Gen 5-Liter Coyote V8 made and an Ecoboost Mustang will stomp all over a 4.6L Mustang stock any day of the week! GM has a monster of a 2.7L Turbocharged 4-cylinder in their trucks and their 3.6L twin turbo v6 in the Blackwing cars makes 445hp and around the same in torque which is more hp and torque than some of their previous 6.0L & 6.2L V8 engines. and this is all stock. Ford had a 3.0L Ecoboost hybrid that put out somewhere around 490hp and 630lb-ft of torque in the Lincoln Aviator GT just a few short years ago. Imagine that in a four-door Mustang with AWD. ZF is making a hybrid 8-speed transmission that puts out some serious HP and torque numbers by itself so imagine what that could do behind a Hurricane-6 either S/O or H/O with a full electric driving range of anywhere between 25-35miles. Let's just think for a moment what these hybrid powertrains could be if say Dodge did something like with the new 2.0L Hurricane 4-cylinder and the Cat-1, Cat-3 and Cat-X Hurricane engines, or Ford and GM put that Hybrid 10-speed transmission behind a 350hp/350tq 2.3L Ecoboost or a 450hp or even a 660hp 3.5L Ecoboost V6 twin turbo or GM with their 445hp 3.6L twin turbo V6 with all-wheel drive systems or even that 2.7L Turbo-4. Then on top of that offer factory backed tunes, performance packs, exhaust systems, suspension upgrades, etc. If this is about reducing emissions, right here is problems solved! Opening the plant back up would put people back to work but have a better thought out plan than trying to continue pushing the EV agenda so strong. Again, I'm not saying the EVs dont have their place because honestly there needs to be a balance and having emissions free vehicles on the road isn't a terrible thing, it's actually a good thing. We need to find better ways to manufacture them this is true and better ways to charge them (SOLAR) but I think we are working towards that. I feel that it's time that more people get involved and maybe we can find ways to come to common grounds and maybe help turn the American Auto industry around. A lot of us here are super passionate about this thing and who knows, maybe something one of us says can actually help re-direct this thing into a more positive direction. One that we can all be happy with again.

TripleT Aug 21, 2024 #5

Everything else is at least a year behind, (from my experience with Mergers, this is due to Due Diligence fiscal freeze, and then delays in Capital approvals with a new management structure and approval justification) So how far behind is the Dakota?

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