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Some 1,600 jobs are being cut at a Jeep Cherokee factory in northern Illinois as automakers continue being plagued by the global shortage of semiconductors. The U.S. arm of Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, said Friday it was cutting one of the two work shifts at its Belvidere Assembly Plant as of July 26. That could result in the layoffs of 1,641 workers, .... the factory’s situation “has been further exacerbated by the unprecedented global microchip shortage,” Tinson said. The Belvidere facility has been idled since late March, with Stellantis repeatedly delaying the reopening that is now not expected...

Stellantis is closing its assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, in February 2023. The Illinois plant employs about 1,350 workers, who are expected to be laid off. Stellantis cited the rising costs of electric vehicle production for the closure. The company said the replacement of the Jeep Cherokee SUV, along with other vehicles on a new electrified platform, will be produced in Toluca, Mexico. Stellantis has said it will invest over $31.6 billion through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. It also has said it expects EVs to make up 100 percent of its sales in Europe and 50 percent in...

Multinational automaker Stellantis is indefinitely closing an assembly plant in Illinois in February and laying off hundreds of workers, in large part due to the high cost of making electric vehicles. Stellantis noted in a statement emailed to FOX Business on Friday that the industry had been adversely affected by factors including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the global microchip shortage and the increasing cost related to the electrification of the automotive market, which it said was the most impactful. There are about 1,350 workers at the Belvedere plant, which produces the Jeep Cherokee. Stellantis reportedly told The Associated Press that...

Multinational automaker Stellantis, which formed last year in a merger between Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group, is shuttering a plant in Illinois that produces the Jeep Cherokee. The company dropped a statement for local media: Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, but the most impactful challenge is the increasing cost related to the electrification of the automotive market. Stellantis has taken a number of actions to stabilize production and improve efficiency at its North American facilities to preserve affordability and...

DETROIT – Stellantis said Friday that it plans to indefinitely idle a Jeep plant in Illinois, starting early next year, to cut costs as it invests in electric vehicles. The transatlantic automaker, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, said the plant will cease production as of Feb. 28. The more than 1,200 workers at the facility, which produces Jeep Cherokee SUVs, will be placed on indefinite layoffs, the company said. “Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, but the most impactful challenge is the increasing cost related...

The carmaker is implementing an “asset-light” strategy in the country because of concerns that rising political tensions could lead to sanctions in a conflict between China and the rest of the world... The CEO’s candid comments offer an explanation for Stellantis’s announcement last week it’s leaving a 12-year manufacturing partnership with state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group. The exit raises uncomfortable questions about what the future may hold for foreign manufacturers in China. The war in Ukraine has disrupted supply chains in Europe, and the lengthening list of sanctions targeting Russia is a grim reminder of what could happen if China were...

Almost 20,000 2017-18 models are being recalled following several fires. Chrysler's parent company, Stellantis, is recalling 19,808 Pacifica Hybrid minivans due to a potential fire risk. Only 2017-18 models are affected, with the recall coming after an internal investigation found 12 fires occurred with Pacifica Hybrids in those model years. All of those 12 fires happened when the vehicles were parked and turned off, with 8 of them charging as well. Fortunately Stellantis is not aware of any injuries or accidents as a result of the fires, but they are urging all owners not to charge their Pacificas and to...

Stellantis’ mysterious concept EV now has a name, and it’s called the Airflow. Revealed during the brand’s EV Day earlier this summer, the Chrysler crossover concept looks to be sized relative to the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, with familiar nods to late Chrysler-branded products. Digital rendering of the Chrysler Airflow EV concept on display.Photo: Stellantis ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This EV concept is part of Stellantis’ roadmap it plans to reveal at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5 in Las Vegas, what Stellantis is calling it’s “transformation to clean mobility and seamlessly connected customer experiences.” The Airflow...

Total new vehicle sales in September dropped to 1.01 million vehicles, down 37% from 1.6 million vehicles in March, when there were still enough new vehicles to sell. The industry-standard Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales – which adjusts for the number of selling days per month and for seasonal factors, and converts the monthly sales into what sales would be for an entire year – plunged for the fifth month in a row, by 29% year-over-year, to 12.2 million units SAAR, the lowest, outside of the two lockdown months, since June 2011 ,according to data from the Bureau...

President Biden's top national security and economic advisers are trying to address a critical supply crunch that is slowing U.S. automobile manufacturing and threatens other sectors, including national security, according to experts. National security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council director Brian Deese, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimodo will meet with executives from 19 companies to discuss growing shortage of semiconductors, a key component of many computerized electronics. The shortage touches nearly every industry, but U.S. auto makers have been especially hit hard. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (formed by a merger involving Fiat Chrysler) have all temporarily closed down...