New year, another shutdown at Belvidere Assembly Plant

BELVIDERE — Production of Jeep Cherokees is on hold once again as employees at the Belvidere Assembly Plant ring in the new year on yet another layoff.

All production operations at the plant will be shut down for two weeks beginning Monday, Jan. 3 "to align production with global sales," Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said.

The Jeep Cherokee’s U.S. sales plummeted 72% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

Production in Belvidere and at other assembly plants nationwide has been halted numerous times over the last two years due to an ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage.

Semiconductors are being used in more vehicles than ever before as the auto industry rolls out new vehicles with electronic features such as Bluetooth connectivity and driver assist, navigation and hybrid electric systems.

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Stellantis is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group.

The company operates one shift at its Belvidere plant, with 2,558 workers, including 2,362 hourly and 196 salaried.

In November, Stellantis announced plans to lay off 400 workers at its Belvidere plant. The layoffs are expected to take effect in January.

The Belvidere City Council sent a resolution to Gov JB Pritzker’s office in September supporting efforts to incentivize investment for the production of electric vehicles in the state, including at the Belvidere plant, Mayor Clint Morris said.

“Essentially, it encouraged the governor to help with any funding regarding incentivizing what seems to be the government going with a green initiative,” Morris said. “Certainly, if anybody would deserve to have some of those incentives, it would be the plant that’s located here in Belvidere.”

The Illinois General Assembly approved what is known as the Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act which provides tax credits for companies that manufacture electric vehicles, parts and batteries in Illinois.

The legislation, which was sponsored by Illinois state Rep. Dave Vella and state Sen. Steve Stadelman, was signed into law in November by Gov Pritzker.

It is hoped that the incentives will convince Stellantis to retool to build electric vehicles in Belvidere.

"As we've said before, we are not commenting on rumor or speculation regarding future product at Belvidere and therefore, there is no timeline for any announcement," Tinson said.

However, Stellantis is in the process of determining sites for manufacturing electric vehicles and intends to invest $35.5 billion in the industry.

Morris anticipates Stellantis making a decision on future production in Belvidere in the first quarter of 2022.

More: Masks required as Belvidere Assembly Plant employees return to work Monday

“I believe they want to see what kind of benefits they can get before they decide to make an investment in electric vehicles here and I don’t know if they may do a hybrid in the future or if they’ll stay with a combustion engine,” Morris said. “I really do believe that it’s a matter of economics. They have shareholders that expect them to meet certain financial expectations but I also believe that they have a plant out here that’s viable and I think we can help them meet those expectations.”

Ken DeCoster: kdecoster@rrstar.com; @DeCosterKen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Belvidere Assembly Plant: New year's 2022 expecting more shutdowns