White House says Stellantis should deliver on Belvidere commitments
BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — The White House said automaker Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, should honor its commitments and reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant.
According to Reuters, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday the contract reached between the UAW and Stellantis "included a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures, What we want to see is Stellantis certainly deliver on those commitments to the UAW and to the communities."
Last year, Stellantis agreed to invest $1.5 billion to reopen the idled Belvidere plant and build a new midsize truck in 2027.
In August, Stellantis it had delayed the timeline because of "market conditions" but would still honor its commitment.
"The facts are indisputable: the transition to electrification is happening at a slower pace than expected," Stellantis told workers in an email last week. "We knew that slowing consumer EV adoption could potentially delay our product launches and investment decisions. In fact, many of our competitors know this too, and also have announced investment and product delays as well as outright product cancelations."
The UAW has threatened to strike, urging Stellantis to "Keep the Promise" and reopen the Belvidere plant, which would have also included a Mopar distribution hub and a electric vehicle (EV) battery plant.
Stellantis has recently filed lawsuits against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, arguing that threatening to strike violates terms of the contract.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Va) was in Belvidere on Friday for a UAW rally, during which he slammed Stellantis for delaying bringing the facility back on line.
"All that we are saying in Belvidere is not complicated, and it's supported by the overwhelming majority of the American people," Sanders told a crowd of about 300 at the United Autoworkers hall. "We must stop this outrageous level of corporate greed."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called on Stellantis to honor its deal last week, saying "That's why I call on Stellantis to live up to the commitments it made a year ago to Illinois workers. There is every opportunity to begin the restart at Belvidere, and there is no time to waste."
Frank B. Rhodes, Jr., the great-grandson of Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler, sent a proposal to CEO Carlos Tavares, saying he wants to acquire the Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and MOPAR brands.
, saying it was opposed to selling off the Chrysler and Dodge brands, and is focused on a long-term strategy integral to its move towards clean mobility.
