- Stellantis has changed its mind about cutting 1,139 workers from its Ohio Jeep plant.
- Staff at Toledo Assembly had been told in November that they weren’t needed after January 5.
- The turnaround comes just weeks after controversial Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares was ousted.
In a plot twist worthy of a cheesy Netflix Christmas movie, 1,139 workers at a Stellantis plant in Ohio have learned that their jobs have been saved only days before they worked what would have been their last shift.
The automaker parted ways with its CEO Carlos Tavares at the beginning of December and has set about reversing some decisions made under the old regime. Those decisions include one announced in November to cut the number of shifts at the Toledo Assembly plant that builds the Jeep Gladiator from three to two.
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At the time Jeep said it needed to cut jobs at the site to improve efficiency and reduce inventory. Although Toledo also makes the Jeep Wrangler, the measures would have specifically targeted the part of the plant responsible for its Gladiator pickup brother. But this week Stellantis said it would no longer be laying off workers from January 5 and would instead make savings through alternative means.
“As Stellantis continues to reassess its strategy in North America, the company has decided to extend the WARN notice that was issued in November for the Toledo South Assembly Plant,” the automaker said in a statement reported by Detroit Free Press. “As a result, no employees will be placed on indefinite layoff on Jan. 5, 2025, due to the previously announced shift reduction. Employees are expected to return to work as scheduled after the new year.”
Jeep’s sales have dropped markedly this year, falling 34 percent from their peak levels, contributing to Stellantis’s problems with bloated inventories. The automaker already paused Grand Cherokee and Wrangler production for several days in September and weeks later it was revealed that total Stellantis registrations had dropped by 20 percent in Q3 versus the same period in 2023.
Carlos Tavares had come under attack from dealers and investors for some of his decisions before he finally agreed to step down on December 1. One of those decisions included personally signing the legendary Hemi V8’s death warrant, according to insiders who dished the dirt after the Portuguese former boss’s departure.
