The $4.8 billion deal between United Auto Workers and Stellantis to open an assembly plant, parts distribution center and battery plant in Belvidere isn’t going to happen, the Detriot Free Press reported Friday.
“Kevin Gotinsky, head of the union’s Stellantis department, said this week, according to Automotive News, that in regards to Belvidere, the automaker would only be moving forward with production of a midsize truck in 2027 and not the addition of a joint-venture battery plant and Mopar parts distribution facility as previously expected,” the Free Press reported.
The nearly $5 billion deal was first announced in fall 2023. It involved investing $100 million to turn the existing Belvidere Assembly Plant into a parts distribution center, building a $3.2 billion battery production facility and a $1.5 billion facility to produce a mid-sized truck.
The union had previously threatened a national strike, saying Stellantis wasn’t living up to its investment commitments in Belvidere, Illinois, and Detroit, the Free Press reported, but the union said earlier this year that with renewed commitments to operations in both cities by the company’s new leadership it was withdrawing its grievances.
Stellantis has stuck with its pledge reopen the Belvidere plant, saying it intends to operate two shifts there with 1,500 employees.
Rockford area union leaders indicated in March that the full $5 billion Belvidere plan, which played a major role in the settling of the 2023 Stand Up Strike, appeared to be on shaky ground.
The company had said in January that those plans were being re-evaluated because of market conditions.
UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen said at the time there did not appear to be enough support for a strike to hold the company accountable for its previous commitments.
The Belvidere Assembly Plant has been idled since February 2023. Workers there used to make the Jeep Cherokee.
Corina Curry is the editor of the Rockford Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Stellantis pulls plug on Belvidere battery plant, parts hub. Truck production still coming
Reporting by Corina Curry, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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