The plant that produces the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer as well as the older version of the Ram 1500 pickup is dropping one of its three shifts, a move that a company spokeswoman said would lead to a cut in hours for certain employees but not actual job cuts.
Ann Marie Fortunate, a spokeswoman for Stellantis, the company that owns the Jeep and Ram brands, cited the global microchip shortage for the decision to cut the third shift at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant, north of Detroit, in order “to improve production efficiency.”
She said there would be no layoffs in connection with the change.
Instead, there will be a reduction in work hours for “non-seniority” supplemental employees, and full-time “seniority” employees will be moved to the other shifts, Fortunate said in an email.
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“Supplemental employees will still be needed to cover for absenteeism and weekend work, but their total scheduled hours will be reduced,” Fortunate said. “We will not quantify the reduction in hours or disclose the number of third shift employees at this time.”
According to information posted on a company website, the plant employed 5,523 workers (5,239 hourly and 284 salaried) as of June. The plant had been running with a third shift since January.
An employee bulletin from the plant posted online appeared to indicate the shift change is effective next week.
When asked about the date, Fortunate said the company would “reduce the impacted employees’ hours in accordance” with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. WARN notices, which mandate a 60-day advance notification, advise the public of plant closings and mass layoffs, but there are exceptions for “unforeseeable business circumstances.” The company said it sent notification to the state, city and UAW on Wednesday.
The act doesn’t just address plant closings and layoffs. It also applies in certain cases where hours are cut for a large number of employees by “more than 50% in each month of any 6-month period,” defining that as an employment loss.
On Friday, the notice was posted on the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity website. It lists those affected as 1,215 supplemental employees, and says the schedule modifications would begin within two weeks of Oct. 12.
The notice, in the form of a letter from the company to the state, explained that the modifications could meet the act’s definition for a job loss.
“These job losses are expected to exceed six months and do not involve the entire plant and the plant is not closing. For purposes of this notice, these job losses are considered to be permanent. The affected employees will not have bumping rights as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. However, these employees may have employment opportunities at other FCA US locations,” according to the letter, using the name of Stellantis’ U.S. operating arm.
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UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, who is director of the UAW Stellantis Department, provided a statement, noting the union’s intent to see that the contract is followed:
“We are disappointed with Stellantis’ decision to reduce the third shift at Local 140 Warren Truck. We are working with the company to ensure the provisions of the national agreement are adhered to for all affected members.”
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts on Thursday said the company did notify the city of the change. In a Facebook post the day before that did not mention Stellantis by name, Fouts referenced a likely announcement coming on “the latest cutback or reduction in production” and noted the impact of the chip shortage.
“As a government we need to push forward with every means possible to make sure we do not remain dependent on chips by foreign adversaries and produce chips in the United States. When I first got into elective office I pushed for ‘Made In America’ and that still remains my belief,” Fouts said in his post.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.