Nov. 6 (UPI) — About 1,100 workers will be laid off indefinitely in January from the Jeep Gladiator plant in Toledo, Ohio, Stellantis officials announced Wednesday.
The automaker is eliminating one shift at the Toledo plant and will operate with a single shift after Jeep Gladiator sales slowed this year, leaving the automaker and dealerships with large inventories of the pickup truck and other Jeep models.
Stellantis wants to greatly reduce current inventories before the end of the year when new-year models are made available for consumers.
The Toledo South Assembly Plant only produces the Jeep Gladiator pickup and cutting production by eliminating half of the factory’s shifts will help the automaker to get off to a better start in 2025, Stellantis officials told CNBC.
The automaker intends to begin laying off the 1,100 workers at the Toledo factory on Jan. 5 after recently issuing a mandatory Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification to state and local officials.
The reduction in work shifts will help improve efficiency at the Toledo factory, Stellantis officials told the Detroit Free Press in a prepared statement.
The layoffs are “difficult actions to take but they are necessary to enable the company to regain its competitive edge and eventually return production to prior levels,” the statement said.
The United Auto Workers Union represents the Toledo factory’s workers, who will receive supplemental unemployment benefits for a year in addition to state unemployment benefits.
Laid-off workers also are eligible for one year of transition assistance and will continue receiving health insurance benefits for two years.
About 4,400 workers are employed at the Toledo South factory, which will reduce the workforce to about 3,300 after the layoffs.
Stellantis owns the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat brands, and company officials are trying to align its U.S. production to consumer demand for its vehicles.
