Stellantis has discussed moving some truck assembly to Mexico, UAW says

Warren, Michigan. – Automobile manufacturers star The company is threatening to shift production of the current Ram 1500 pickup from a plant in suburban Detroit to Mexico, a union leader said Sunday.

Rich Boyer, UAW vice president and head of the union’s Stellantis division, said the automaker has discussed the move in ongoing contract negotiations, which are taking place concurrently but separately between the UAW and the UAW. General Motors, Strandis and Ford.

Boyer said the company’s plans would include building the new all-electric Ram pickup at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which currently makes most of Ram’s light-duty pickups.

The move is likely to meet some political resistance. It could also affect union membership, since fewer workers are needed to produce electric cars. There’s also no guarantee that all-electric pickups will be as successful as current internal combustion engine (ICE) models, meaning less job security for members.

Boyer, speaking to hundreds of union members at a “Unite Sunday” rally, made no secret of his displeasure with the potential plan, accusing Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares of not caring about American auto workers.

“He doesn’t care about the American Auto Workers,” Boyer said, wearing a red UAW shirt that read “United We Stand Divided We Fall.” “They said they wanted to ship the Ram 1500 ICE to Mexico.”

Stellantis, which already produces some Ram pickups in Mexico, did not confirm or deny the potential move, saying in a statement: “The allocation of product to our U.S. plants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations and a measure of the plant’s ability to meet specific performance requirements.” Metrics include improving quality, reducing absenteeism, and addressing overall cost issues.

“As these decisions are fluid and part of discussions at the negotiating table, we will not comment further.”

UAW President Shawn Fain said he thought redeploying truck production “was a huge mistake for Stellantis.”

“These are our jobs and our tools. We want to continue that work,” he said.

In an interview with CNBC after the event, the UAW’s Boyer said ongoing negotiations with Stellantis were “slow and confrontational.”

Fein, who began leading the union earlier this year and has taken a more confrontational tone in the negotiations, said he hopes to strike a deal with the companies before the deal expires at 11:59 p.m. ET in the coming weeks. provisional agreement. 14.

“When Labor Day comes around, we’d better make a deal. If we don’t, there will be problems,” said Fein, who declined to speculate on the possibility of strikes at one or all three automakers. “We’re not married to anything right now.”

Fain publicly tossed Stellantis’ most recent proposal in the trash at a Facebook Live membership event earlier this month.

Contract talks between the union and the automaker typically begin in July, after a previous four-year agreement expires in mid-September. Typically, one of the three automakers is the lead or target company the union chooses to negotiate with first, with the others extending the deadline. Fein, however, said this year could be different, but gave no specifics.