FCA expands in Michigan, curtails in Illinois

FCA has notified 1,371 employees of layoffs effective March 2 at the Belvidere, Illinois assembly plant. According to a FCA spokesperson as reported by various media outlets, that facility will ramp down from its current three-shift configuration and convert to a traditional two-shift schedule starting May 6. The Michigan reconfiguration will bring jobs and production changes in varying degrees to five plants, and in a company release, FCA said the changes will “increase capacity to meet growing demand for its Jeep and Ram brands, including production of two new Jeep branded white space products as well as electrified models.” For the Mack Avenue Engine Complex, comprising two plants, FCA has earmarked USD 1.6 billion to convert those facilities into the future assembly site for the next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and a full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, adding 3,850 new jobs to support production. FCA will begin construction on the new Detroit facility by the end of Q2 2019, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the line by the end of 2020, followed by additional models in the first half of 2021. The Jefferson North Assembly Plant will add 1,100 jobs and receive USD 900 million. The reborn Mack facility would be the first new assembly plant to be built in Detroit since 1991, when Jefferson North was constructed. In other changes, as part of the multi-plant modification, the Dundee engine plant will receive USD 119 million; the Warren, Michigan plant (Warren Stamping) would receive USD 245 million and add 1,400 jobs; and the Sterling Heights plant (Sterling Stamping) would receive USD 160 million and see the creation of 80 additional jobs.