Auto giant Stellantis announced that they would be 'idling' their Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant on Feb. 28, indefinitely laying off 1,350 employees.
A sign sits above the Belvidere Assembly Plant on Feb. 26, 2023, in Belvidere, Illinois.Over a thousand automotive workers in Illinois will clock out of a Jeep assembly plant for the last time Tuesday, stopping what a local union president described as the "heartbeat" of the small city.
"You're either forced to take a pay cut or uproot your entire family," said Jeremy Snow, co-owner of an auto-repair shop in Belvidere. He later added, "I just feel like there's definitely a million ways they could have done better, and they didn't care." Logan said he was given the same reasons for the factory closure - a combination of the cost of electrification, COVID, and the chip shortage - though he said he struggles to rationalize how such a profitable company, along with the tax incentives for American manufacturing, would still decide to shutter a state-of-the-art facility.
"This means we will need to rethink and restructure our operations everywhere in the world, including in North America," she wrote. Some employees could move to another Stellantis plant in neighboring states so they can complete the years of work required to obtain full benefits, as those opportunities become available. The move comes with a relocation bonus, Logan said. But, for many, the prospect of moving their family is a high cost, Snow said.
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