Warren Truck to lose shift as Ram 1500 Classic production ends; UAW's Fain blasts cuts

Warren Truck Assembly will lose a shift in general assembly later this year as the older version of the Ram 1500 pickup, known as the Classic, ends production there.

The phasing out was not necessarily unexpected, but the timing had been unclear.

The loss of the shift could potentially affect 2,450 workers, but Stellantis said Friday that the number of layoffs is likely to be much lower. That's in part because the UAW contract has provisions that could mean workers get shifted elsewhere. The UAW's president, however, was highly critical of the plans.

The company said that "indefinitely laid-off represented seniority employees will receive 52 weeks of supplemental unemployment benefits (paid by the company) and 52 weeks of transition assistance. This would be in addition to any state unemployment benefits an employee might be eligible to receive. They will also receive two years of health care coverage."

The layoffs could begin as early as Oct. 8.

Warren Truck, which currently employs almost 3,900 workers, including 3,700 represented and 170 salaried, also produces the Jeep Wagoneer. The newer version of the Ram 1500 is produced at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.

"With the introduction of the new Ram 1500, production of the Ram 1500 Classic at the Warren (Michigan) Truck Assembly Plant will come to an end later this year. As a result, Stellantis announced today that the plant will move from a two-shift to a one-shift operating pattern in general assembly. Other operations within the plant will remain on two shifts to support Jeep Wagoneer production," according to a statement provided by spokeswoman Jodi Tinson Friday.

The company said it would file a notice about the layoffs with the state as well as notify the union.

UAW President Shawn Fain, in a statement about the layoffs, blasted the company's CEO:

“Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is a disgrace and an embarrassment to a once-great American company. While GM and Ford report fantastic profits and increased sales, Stellantis is going backwards. Meanwhile, Tavares jacks up his own pay by 56 percent while laying off thousands of autoworkers. If any autoworker did as piss poor of a job as Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, they would be fired. The American taxpayer has invested in Stellantis. Workers have invested in Stellantis. Consumers have invested in Stellantis. It’s time for Stellantis to invest in us."

Stellantis has seen its U.S. sales and profits decline in recent periods. Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, in July reported net profit of $6 billion (5.6 billion euros) for the first half of the year. That was down 48% compared to the same period in 2023. It also reported a 21% U.S. sales slide in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2023.

"We have been clear in private and in public with Stellantis that Tavares’s mismanagement of this company and his lack of commitment to the American autoworker is unacceptable,” Fain said.

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Tinson said the company would decline to comment on Fain's statement.

The company, in its statement about the changes, noted that a specific trim level is now available for the newer Ram pickup. It called the Classic a great entry point pickup for Ram "and the Tradesman model has well represented the needs of commercial truck customers for years."

However, the company noted that it offers a new 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman, with upgraded electrical architecture that "allows new technologies useful to commercial fleets for better tracking and improved safety systems such as Forward Collision Warning Plus and Adaptive Cruise Control."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.