The 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup truck is displayed at the North American International Auto Show on January 15, 2018 in Detroit.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Detroit — Automobile Manufacturers Stellantis The company plans to stop production of older Ram 1500 pickup trucks in Michigan and indefinitely lay off up to 2,450 U.S. factory workers later this year.
The truck has been marketed as a lower-priced pickup aimed primarily at entry-level buyers and fleet customers since the company introduced the new-generation Ram 1500 in 2018. It’s built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant near Detroit, alongside the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.
The current Ram 1500, which was recently updated for the 2025 model year, is produced at a nearby factory, which will continue to operate as scheduled.
“With the introduction of the new Ram 1500, production of the Ram 1500 Classic at the Warren plant will be [Michigan] “The truck assembly plant is scheduled to close later this year,” the company said in an emailed statement.
The discontinuation of the Ram 1500 “Classic” vehicle was not unexpected, but the company has not announced a replacement for the truck — a concern for local governments, workers and the United Auto Workers union, which represents the plant.
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Ram CEO Chris Feuer told CNBC last week that the “Classic” version of the pickup will be phased out by the end of the year.
UAW President Sean Fain criticized Stellantis management for the cuts.
“Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is an embarrassment and disgrace to a once great American company,” Fain said in an email late Friday night. “Meanwhile, Tavares is raising his own salary by 56 percent while laying off thousands of autoworkers. If any autoworker did a job as badly as Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, they would be fired.”
The layoffs could begin as early as October. The final number of indefinite layoffs at the Warren plant, which currently employs about 3,700 hourly workers, may be lower than announced. Some employees may be given other jobs or positions at other plants.
The job cuts are the latest for Stellantis, which has cut production at several factories due to sales problems and cost-cutting measures.
Tavares has been working to cut costs at the automaker since it was formed in January 2021 through a merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, as part of his “Dare Forward 2030” plan to increase profits and double sales to 300 billion euros ($325 billion) by 2030.
The company last week offered widespread voluntary separations to its U.S. salaried employees as it seeks to cut staff and costs. Stellantis, which reported disappointing first-half results last month, said involuntary separations could continue if not enough employees agree to leave.
