Automaker Stellantis is set to reopen its assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and ramp up production in Detroit, Michigan, instead of Canada after its chairman met with President Donald Trump just ahead of his Monday inauguration.
The manufacturer will produce the next-generation Dodge Durango SUV in Detroit as well as a “new midsize pickup truck” at the Belvidere Jeep plant, which was shut down in February 2023, the Detroit News reported Wednesday.
The Belvidere location employed about 5,000 people across three shifts in 2019, producing approximately 190,000 Jeep Cherokees that year before sales fell and two shifts were cut by 2022, the New York Times reported. When Stellantis, headquartered in the Netherlands, announced an “indefinite” closure of the plant, some 1,350 people were put out of work.
The positive news from the company comes after a “long-simmering dispute” with the United Auto Workers (UAW) over vehicle assembly sites, particularly plans to shift production of certain vehicles to Ontario, according to Detroit News.
The multinational company, which produces several other brands including Chrysler and Ram, has suffered a troubling trend of production cuts, mass layoffs of American employees in favor of hiring low-wage workers overseas, and committing billions to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) despite consumer data showing that U.S. drivers are sticking with gas, Breitbart News reported.
One of UAW’s major grievances was the company’s former plan to produce the upcoming Durango SUV, which is expected by 2026, in Windsor, Ontario, instead of Detroit.
In addition to getting to work on the Durango in Detroit, about 1,5000 UAW workers will return to the Belvidere site to produce the unnamed midsize pickup by 2027, according to a letter to employees from North America Chief Operating Officer (COO) Antonio Filosa.
UAW has since confirmed that their grievances with Stellantis have been resolved, according to its website.
Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who had a poor relationship with the union, resigned in December shortly after Trump’s win.
Tavares was attempting to push the company to EVs despite low sales, according to multiple publications.
“Several sources said executives tried multiple times to deprioritize the company’s emphasis on electric vehicles or, at the very least, launch gas-powered models before EV models to maintain sales, but Tavares was dismissive of such actions,” CNBC reported shortly after the ex-CEO’s departure.
The CNBC article was corroborated by EuroNews, which reported that “Tavares had championed Stellantis’ €50bn electrification investment, aiming for 100% battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in Europe by 2030.”
“However, sales fell short of expectations,” the France-based outlet stated that same week. “According to the latest Bank of America’s EV Tracker, Stellantis sold 173.4 thousand BEVs in the first half of 2023, a figure that dropped to 157.7 thousand in the first half of 2024 – a 9% decline year-on-year.
Stellantis has since been led by an interim executive committee, headed by chairman John Elkann, according to NPR.
In his letter, Filosa confirmed that Elkann had met with Trump last week, telling the now-president that the company has “enthusiasm for his strong commitment to the United States auto industry and all that this means for American jobs and the broader economy.”
“John told the President that building on our proud, more than 100-year history in the U.S., we plan to continue that legacy by further strengthening our U.S. manufacturing footprint and providing stability for our great American workforce,” the COO wrote of the chairman’s conversation with Trump.
The letter also included good news for workers at two Ohio Stellantis facilities — the Toledo Assembly Complex and Toledo Machining Plant — as well as its Kokomo, Indiana plant, announcing investments in all three locations.
“The union said the commitment to a second phase of engine production in Kokomo reversed the company’s previous plans to move that work out of the country,” the Detroit News reported.
Filosa added in his letter that Stellantis is committed to “grow our auto production and manufacturing here” in the U.S.
“This victory is a testament to the power of workers standing together and holding a billion-dollar corporation accountable. Thank you to the thousands of members and leaders who rallied, marched, filed grievances, and talked to coworkers,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in a statement. “Your solidarity forced Carlos Tavares out as CEO of this company, and it’s been a game-changer. Since Antonio Filosa has taken over as North American COO at Stellantis, we have been meeting with their team, and the difference is clear. This is a leadership that is ready to recommit to investing in our membership, our communities, and in this company.”
The move to keep the Durango manufacturing in the U.S. comes as Trump threatens to place heavy tariffs on Mexico and Canada, CBS News reported shortly after he was sworn in.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people — Canada’s a very bad abuser also — vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in,” Trump said Monday as he signed a range of executive orders.
The tariffs may come as soon as February 1, the outlet reported.
Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called Trump’s threat an “emergency,” and criticized the ruling Liberal Party for proroguing Parliament through late March, when the Party’s election for a successor to Trudeau will conclude, Breitbart News reported Wednesday.
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