DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Autoworkers at the Stellantis owned Detroit Assembly Mack plant will see fewer hours as the automaker chooses to reduce the number of shifts.
Citing strict California emissions regulations, the automaker announced to company members that it would be dropping from three to two shifts, without declaring how much production would be reduced.
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The plant which began shipping Jeep Grand Cherokee’s in 2021, employs nearly 5,000 members, a majority of whom are hourly and only 273 are salaried according to the company.
The automaker also said yesterday that its Toledo, Ohio assembly plant – which focuses on the Jeep Wrangler – would be experiencing shift changes to a two shift operation from an alternative work schedule.
The shift changes at both plants will result in job losses, though Stallantis has not given a precise number.
The company has also been limiting shipments of gasoline-powered vehicles to dealers who have adopted California’s emissions rules, in some cases only shipping already sold orders to customers according to Reuters.
The decision is “in part because of the need to manage sales of the vehicles they produce to comply with California emissions regulations that are measured on a state-by-state basis.”
Earlier this week, Stellantis announced it was seeking to void a 2019 California emissions deal. It said it was petitioning to overturn the California Air Resources Board (CARB) agreement to “relieve Stellantis of the competitive disadvantages arising from our continuing exclusion and to preserve our ability to best serve our customers by fairly allocating our products to all states.”
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In late November, the company announced the recall of more than 32,000 hybrid Jeep Wrangler SUVs citing potential fire risks. A number of vehicles had caught fire from a stationary position while others were being charged when a fire broke out.
The company was among the Big Three Automakers who experienced major contract reform and costs from the United Auto Workers (UAW) historic Stand Up Strike.
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