Stellantis Suspends Production in Russia!

Stellantis announced on Tuesday, that it would be suspending production at its Kaluga Assembly Plant in Russia. The reason behind the closure was logistical difficulties and sanctions imposed on Moscow over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The facility is located about 125 miles southwest of Moscow and currently employs about 2,700 employees. Owned in partnership with Mitsubishi Motors (70% of the plant is owned by Stellantis), the facility manufacturers vehicles like the Peugeot 408, Citroën C4, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Mitsubishi Pajero. The plant also assembles light commercial vehicles (LCVs) vans for the Opel, Peugeot, and Citroën. Those vehicles are the Peugeot Partner, Citroën Berlingo, and Opel Combo.

“Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees,” Stellantis said in a statement.

Stellantis already suspended all exports and imports of its vehicles into and from Russia. Production of the company’s vans continued for the local market until the shortage of supplies. 

Unfortunately, for the 2,700 employees, it is unknown when or if the plant will return to production. Production of the company’s vans will be moved to other facilities within the European Union (E.U.). On the plus side, Stellantis will continue to pay the employees through a local downtime scheme and by using accrued vacation time according to reports.