Stellantis cuts 200-plus supplemental workers in Detroit

Stellantis NV continues to cut its supplemental manufacturing workforce, with more than 200 additional workers losing their jobs at one Detroit warehousing facility as of March 31, union officials and workers said.

"Stellantis continues to review its manufacturing operations to ensure all facilities are operating as efficiently as possible in very challenging market conditions with all actions in accordance with the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement," the company said in a recent statement sent by spokesperson Jodi Tinson, referencing last fall's deal with the United Auto Workers. "To ensure compliance with contractual commitments, the Company has been reducing the number of Supplemental Employees across much of our U.S. footprint."

Some 239 workers were cut at the Freud Street parts sequencing facility — located near the company's Jefferson North Assembly Plant — though about 20 of the workers were later brought back due to staffing issues, union officials said.

It was the latest of several rounds of supplemental worker terminations. Some 539 were let go in January across several facilities, with another 341 cut early last month from the Toledo Assembly Complex, which makes Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators.

The supplemental workers are union members, but are paid less and receive fewer benefits than their Stellantis manufacturing colleagues, and help cover shifts for regular full-time workers at facilities. The company has long relied heavily on them — and many have worked for Stellantis for years — but after the new UAW contract was signed, most have either been terminated or converted to full-time employment status.

The supplemental worker cuts have frustrated some full-timers. Workers at the Toledo Jeep plant were circulating a petition in recent weeks demanding that Stellantis "reinstate the over 1,000 Supplemental Employees terminated in January and March, including 341 here at Jeep, with full back-pay and restoration of their former Corporate Service Date." It also demanded the company not terminate any more supplemental employees.

Under the contract, the company agreed to convert almost 3,000 to full-time out of more than 5,200 employed around the United States as of last fall, and those conversions were complete as of Feb. 16. UAW officials have said the company only plans to keep about 500 supplementals on the payroll going forward.

In addition to the supplemental worker cuts, Stellantis laid off about 400 white-collar workers in its engineering and software divisions last month, as The Detroit News previously reported. The company cited "unprecedented uncertainties and heightened competitive pressures" as the need for those cuts.

Additional layoffs are occurring at two prominent suppliers to Toledo's Jeep plant, said Bruce Baumhower, president of UAW Local 12, which represents workers at that plant and other area companies.

KUKA, which builds bodies for the Gladiator pickup, laid off about 70 people from its workforce of more than 350 in recent weeks. Gladiator sales have steadily decreased recently, Baumhower noted. And Syncreon, which does parts sequencing for the plant, also is expected to lay off 80 of its workers, the union leader said. Representatives for both companies did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on the cuts Thursday afternoon.