Ford rival Stellantis has faced its fair share of difficulties over the past several months – everything from soft sales to missed profit targets, soaring inventory levels, angry dealers, union pressures, and emissions violations that will cost it millions. All of this came to a head recently when CEO Carlos Tavares opted to resign amid tremendous pressure, but that same move seems to have possibly prevented some previously announced Stellantis layoffs from happening.
According to Automotive News, 1,100 previously-planned Stellantis layoffs at the Toledo South Assembly Plant in Ohio may no longer take place, a move that the automaker was slated to make to align Jeep Gladiator production with plummeting sales of the off-road-focused pickup. Between 2020 and 2022, Gladiator sales in the U.S. averaged 81,703 annually, but dropped to 55,188 in 2023 and totaled 32,670 through September 2024 – part of the reason why Stellantis currently has some of the highest inventory levels in the business. As a result, Stellantis was planning to eliminate one of two shifts at the Toledo plant, but now, it’s possible that won’t happen after it chose to extend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice at that facility for an undisclosed period of time.
“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. “As a result, no employees will be placed on indefinite layoff on January 5th, 2025, due to the previously announced shift reduction. Employees are expected to return to work as scheduled after the new year.”
“Now that Carlos Tavares is out of the picture, I believe things are starting to move in a more positive direction,” said UAW Vice President Kevin Gotinsky, who heads the Stellantis department. “The company has already partially reversed some previously announced layoffs at Mack, Jefferson North, and Toledo Assembly. With changes to leadership, the company may be reconsidering their plans to offshore UAW jobs.”
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Maybe the incoming CEO will put a 4 cylinder Cummins Diesel in the Wrangler line up.
So I don’t know if the people from Jeep actually read these things or what have you? But here’s the problem, the Jeep Wrangler is the greatest R. Roller that there is but the Jeep gladiator could be as great if they put the same energy into it as they put into that Jeep Wrangler, where is the 3.0? Hurricane straight 6 engine. Where’s that 420 horsepower engine that needs to go right into that pickup truck? Compete with the raptor compete with that Ford Ranger. Raptor you see GM doing it this was the one thing that was so great about the trx. When it was alive was the fact that it was a direct answer to that Ford raptor and it beat it. Jeep can do the same thing with the gladiator The fans of that truck will come roaring into the dealership. That’s what you charge $75 or 85k for Not the regular one of the meal pintestar v six, add that pentastar, V6 could be so much more if they added a Turbo to it. Erase, the horsepower is at least have at least 300 horsepower. At this point, no Jeep should be coming down the road with less. Where is the Warren winch? Built into the bumper, the front bumper. Step your game up jeep