A multinational automaker laid off more than 2,000 American workers in August after benefiting handsomely from the Biden administration’s subsidies for electric vehicle production.
Stellantis, the parent company to famous brands like Ram and Jeep, has been awarded hundreds of millions in grants from the federal government to promote its EV manufacturing. But the Biden administration’s largesse has not prevented the company from laying off American workers.
In July, the Department of Energy awarded Stellantis subsidiary Chrysler a $334.8 million grant to convert a shuttered Illinois plant into a facility for building EVs and another $250 million grant to make a transmission plant in Indiana suitable for manufacturing EV parts. Negotiations between the Department of Energy and grant awardees will take place to ensure the companies meet certain requirements for supporting workers and communities.
National Review has reached out to Stellantis and the Department of Energy for comment.
Unlike its competitors, Stellantis has begun to turn a profit on electric vehicles, and will continue moving full-steam ahead with its electrification process. Ford has suffered billions worth of losses on its electric vehicle fleet and in August announced plans to adjust its electrification strategy to lower costs.
Stellantis is set to lay off more than 2,000 workers at a plant outside Detroit to wind down its production of the classic Ram 1500 truck. The plant, located in Warren, Michigan, will continue to be equipped for Jeep Wagoneer production on a one-shift production pattern. Laid off union workers will receive supplemental unemployment benefits and transition assistance for the next year.
As Stellantis shifts towards electrifying its fleet, the company has threatened to move Ram 1500 production from another plant outside Detroit to Mexico, United Auto Workers vice president Rich Boyer said last month with contract negotiations ongoing between the two sides.
“Product allocation for our U.S. plants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations as well as a plant’s ability to meet specific performance metrics including improving quality, reducing absenteeism and addressing overall cost,” the company told CNBC.
The Sterling Heights, Michigan plant is used for manufacturing the Ram 1500 Tradesman truck and it would be converted to a production facility for an all-electric Ram vehicle, potentially threatening union jobs.
The Biden administration’s goals of promoting labor unions and electric vehicles came into tension last year when the United Auto Workers staged a prolonged strike against the big three automakers over their shifts to electric vehicles and other issues related to benefits and compensation.
Reprinted with permission from The National Review by James Lynch.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Small potatoes compared to nearly $50 billion dollars given to Intel and now flushed down the toilet under the Chips Act as they layoff several thousand employees. Yes, Stellantis may be noteworthy in that is yet another one of the many examples of why the federal government is completely incompetent to pick winners and losers in the private sector regarding just about anything, but it is hardly anything new. Look at all the billions that were flushed during the Obama years on so-called green companies. It’s a long, long list.
Taxpayers get hosed again.
Another bad decision by the Biden Administration that hurts US workers.
The Biden Administration gave some money to Stellantis to “promote EV manufacturing”. When it became obvious that the public was not going to buy EV’s in the expected numbers, Stellantis did what it had to do to remain profitable. Nowhere was it stipulated that the subsidy money had to be used to keep American car workers employed, no matter what. This is just another case of throwing money at private industry to further the “green cause”.
When the taxpayer money is lost, the Democrats shrug their shoulders, and look for another way to bring about a transformation of America. The blame for all of this? Look no farther than the voters who elected Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats. When you elect socialists you get socialism, ……………… good and hard.
Just following in Obama’s footsteps
And the slow joe administration says “go after the corporations and make them pay their fair share”?? It is a fact that during this super high inflation time induced by the liberal socialists the large and powerful companies have made billions $$ of taxpayer dollars. Why do you think the democrats get over 75% of the campaig donatios from “big business”??
The Democrats and Greenies won’t be happy until all manufacturing is moved out of the country and everyone has to depend on the Socialist regime to feed them. Socialism 101.
Stellantis is just another name for thief.
Not suprised at all. This is money laudering at it’s finest. In fact it is out right full fledge theft.
This money has been stolen from the American people.
Isn’t it remarkable that the employees stage strikes against the companies and then vote for the Dim jerks that created their employment problems!
For some industries tariffs make sense. For all industries low corporate income taxes make sense. Bidenomics make no sense and Kacklin Kamala’s comments on economics make even less sense.
This demonstrates the foolishness of allowing foreign governments or companies to control industry in the US. This must stop.
Why is it ….DEMOCRATS RUIN EVERYTHING??? It seems like everything they touch goes under or is under performing or worse in some way. WHY does the American public keep putting them in charge???
Another boondoggle of ole Joe and Kameltoe. They didn’t put safeguards nor conditions in the subsidy award to keep the plants open and no lay offs or moving any plants to Mexico or anywhere else. Ole Joe has always thrown money at the problem without conditions or restrictions. Billions of dollars to the Ukraine but no accounting required where it was spent. Zelensky and his oligarchs have acquired quite a bundle of large estates, compounds actually outside the Ukraine. In case Ukraine is bombed to smithereens by Russia. The same is happening in Michigan with the car industry. Ole Joe gets millions in donations from the unions and he throws the union members under the bus. Typical elitist behavior. All you auto workers vote TRUMP/VANCE to save your jobs and your livelihood and thereby the future of America.
Contrary to Biden belief, nobody wants electric vehicles especially when the big move forward is all the cars and batteries will be produced in China. Why won’t the UAW leadership understand that like their members do?
Not to worry! All you EV workers are guaranteed a high-paying, high-skilled job at Solyndra.
Does anyone in D.C. understand the definition of T R E A S O N? If anyone commits treason and is found guilty of doing so, I think the minimum accountability should be 5 years in jail. America must enforce it’s laws.
I think maybe some people should get the ELECTRIC CHAIR!!!
could it be that EV’s aren’t selling? hmm? Biden/HARRIS’s plan to demand EV’s only in the near future is like deciding that we need to stop using ground water and wells for our water supply. Then switching to de-salination plants. only, there are only 2 of them nationwide. But, that’s OK, we’ll build some more soon. Meanwhile- catch your rainwater- where is is legal to do so- (not Kalifornia). meanwhile, you’ll just have to get your water from the city or buy water.. oh…no price gouging!!
Other EV issues:
Vandals hit charging centers
Range
battery fires
Insurance
No Road Service
Just remember the union management wants Kamala! She wants the USA to have all electric vehicles by 2045. It will never happen!
Didn’t I read somewhere that the CHINESE built a YUUUGE factory to make their EV batteries? Now Biden/Harris have caused thousands to be put in the employment line!! And now Harris, Komad Kamala wants to be the POTUS?!?!?!?! NO WAY!!!
So Joe destroys another 2000 American jobs by bribing foreigners with our tax dollars. How is that for inflation reduction?
and no one goes to jail
This is the end result of a company getting forced into making unpopular decisions due to lame Biden administration forcing auto makers to go electric.
Another point. I my self have been a hard core Chrysler supporter for decades. It has sickened me to see what was once a great American company, get passed around like a cheap suit. All because they made a fatal mistake of getting involved with foreign companies.
My son works for one of these EV places, half the time there are no parts and when they do get the parts nearly half of them do not work. They have over 40% of the vehicles coming off the assembly line in their “grave yard” to be reworked due to malfunctions. If they complain or go to the media they get fired. The working conditions are deplorable, as most places do not make inspections to make sure they are living up to American standards for work conditions. My son has gotten heat stroke from working there but he has to feed his family, and there are not many places to work.
If you keep taxing the money makers and giving it way to the world how does Washington expect USA to survive? Oh never mine their wanting to destroy us.
But wait!!! There is NO QUIT IN AMERICANS.
This isn’t going to help comrade kamala!! Couldn’t the democrats have given more taxpayer money to Stellantis to ensure that no lay offs would take place until after the November elections??
Would the possibility of a move have to do with higher taxes promised after the next election???
I am sure that George Soros’s electric car plant benefited from Biden’s actions as well. Not to mention all of the jobs lost due to Biden and his handlers decision to cripple energy production in America, all a part of the plan to turn our nation into a socialist/communist country.
Maybe the ‘gretch’ should pay more attention to this kind of thing than to bringing China mega battery sites into Michigan with foreign labor. The former auto capital of the nation is nothing but a shadow of itself. “memories’ only.
It’s such a shame that the government is spending money at the same rate as they were when the government was almost fully supporting our nation’s economy during covid. There is no accountability for spending, only accountability that the money to Stellantis will by used for “green” purposes. It’s shameful how irresponsible our government has become.
We can only hope the UAW chokes themselves out on their greed…
It never ends. Our politicians put everything and anything before the American worker and taxpayers. These fools think we work for them! Politicians start with an empty wallet and leave multi-millionaires with great pensions. Unaccecptable and WRONG…
UNION MEMBERS KEEP VOTING DEMORAT ! LOSE YOUR LIVELY HOODS AND CONTINUE TO HELP THE DEMORATS MAKE AMERICA A PISSHOLE
Still waiting on all those so-called High Paying Jobs for over the past 3 and half years from the loser New Green Deal that would happen overnight Dictator Beijing biden said when he KILLED OUR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE and AMERICAN JOBS. AMERICANS LOST THEIR JOBS because of a Lie and Scam.
Once again like Obama, King Biden has given millions of OUR money (not his) to Chrysler to use any way they want without restriction, to spend outside the USA.
We are doomed without a change of leadership.
TERM LIMITS FOR ALL POLITICIANS
How much of this money is lining the pockets of Hunter and “The Big Guy”?? Graft, corruption and kick-backs…yea, that sounds about right.
Centralized planning consistently just doesn’t seem to be all the communists crack it up to be. Imagine that!
Biden can take his EV and shove them where the sun don’t shine. I will NEVER buy/drive one of those things. They’re overpriced, the batteries are outrageously priced and they aren’t even dependable.
Biden omics are really helping the workers, aren’t they. This is another example of democrat/communist lies. When will the American people wake up and see just how terribly the democrat/communists backstabbing the American people?
I would like a refund please.
Who wants to ride the merry-go-round again? I do! I do! And so round and round it goes, and where it stops, nobody knows!
Criminal all of the bastards that push this. Batteries blow up, cars go not very far, recharging is wait, wait, and wait — Just keep quiet American, these thieves are taking your stuff. You must like it.
It…the Government can’t make ends meet and must continually rake taxpayers over the coals…raising tax rates…going years back to make sure they got every penny out of us that they could. This is flat-out sickening. Democrats have been ‘in power’ too long. They don’t conduct business with any common sense any more. They’re all busy making themselves rich!!
Joe Biden is the biggest scammer and motormouth to become a politician. He gets rich and we all pay with our taxes. Awful!
I find your Naivete rather Surprising.
Of COURSE THEY HOSED YOU!!
( unbelievable suckers.. 😉
.
Just like all the green energy companies that flourished under Obama’s massive grants (payoffs), but then with belly up as soon as the federal funds dried up.
“meet specific performance metrics including improving quality, reducing absenteeism ” This sounds like the union workers are lazy (therefore bad quality) and either excessively sick, or taking advantage of the generous sick pay benefits. You can not run a successful company with these problems.
It is so difficult for me to realize that after all the horrible policies of Biden’s regime (with Kamala rooting him on) there are so many who want to put that regime back in the White House. Kamala has just raised another 36 million dollars for her campaign and the polls have these two neck-in-neck. Obviously the brain-washing from the “progressives” worked on a huge part of our population. These people have a knack for turning everything they touch into a horrible mess! This regime has literally thrown money at everything and anybody they think will keep them in office just like this money to an auto-maker. God, help us!