TOLEDO, Ohio — Stellantis announced Thursday it plans to lay off up to 1,225 workers at the Toledo Assembly Complex. This comes just a month after the automaker reached a contract deal with the United Auto Workers after the union's month-and-a-half strike against the Detroit Big 3.
Phil Reiter has worked at Jeep for 10 years. With his seniority, he's not worried he'll get laid off but he hopes the situation gets figured out for the temporary workers, who Stellantis said will make up a bulk of the potential cuts.
"You have to feel for these people," Reiter said. "Some of them have been in there five, six years, they're finally going to get full-time."
According to UAW Local 12, the new contract guaranteed about 900 of them would go full-time.
"A month later, to find out those supplemental's that have waited years, are probably going to get hired full-time then get put out on the street on unemployment," Reiter said. " So, was that really a win?"
Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower said the layoffs announcement was made because Stellantis wouldn't sign an agreement in 2019 to improve fuel emissions. 14 states, including California, were part of the agreement.
"They decided not to sell our products anymore which the company looked at that and said we're going to lose 'X' amount of sales, we don't need to run three shifts, we cut it down to two shifts and lay off some people,' Baumhower said. "It was alarming."
But he said Stellantis is making an effort to reduce fuel emissions, like producing more hybrid and EV vehicles. Baumhower feels the states should give the automaker more time.
While he may understand what the company is going through, he doesn't think the workers should be forced to pay the price.
"I'm saying no," Baumhower said. "I'm saying we're going to put pressure on the company. We've talked to them about it, even today, and said we want you to offer layoffs to senior people who might enjoy taking the summer off and let these new hires begin their careers as full-time employees. That's our position and we're not moving from it."
Baumhower said if layoffs happen, a system is in place to offer people who have been with the company for a long time the chance to take turns taking time off to save some of the newer workers.
The UAW is still working on an agreement and on Monday, Shawn Fain, the president of the international union will host a Facebook live at 5 p.m.