Chrysler-parent Stellantis must honor the commitments it made to the United Auto Workers, as well as the communities affected by the plant closures in the U.S., the White House said on Wednesday.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that the deal that was reached between the carmaker and the union “included a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures,” Reuters reported.
“What we want to see is Stellantis certainly deliver on those commitments to the UAW and to the communities,” she added.
The union has already mentioned that its local chapters would be able to launch multiple strikes, saying that the carmaker was not able to comply with its product and investment commitments following the six-week strike.
In 2023, Stellantis came to an agreement with UAW that it would invest $1.5 billion for the reopening of the assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. It also agreed to build new mid-size trucks by 2027, which is a part of the huge investment plan amounting to $19 billion.
On Wednesday, Stellantis reiterated its commitment “to investing in the U.S. to create jobs and support its communities.” after the company delayed some investments in August due to economic conditions.
In November 2023, President Joe Biden went to Illinois to give support to UAW’s efforts to unionize Tesla and Toyota, Los Angeles Times reported. In that same event, he also appealed to auto workers to reject former president Donald Trump. At the time, he commended the tentative contract agreements between the big three automakers of Detroit and the union.
In recent weeks, the company has filed 11 lawsuits against the union and the local units. It stated that the union violated the contract by threatening to strike because of delays encountered by the company in its planned investments.
Stellantis currently makes its Ram pickup trucks in Mexico and Michigan. While Biden has expressed support for the union, Trump promised to impose 100% tariffs on higher on imported Mexican vehicles in the event that he wins the election.
The carmaker recently issued a recall of 44,500 hybrid crossover SUVs worldwide due to a brake pedal issue according to a filing on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The company reported a 20% drop in consolidated shipments for the third quarter to an estimated 1,148 thousand units, reflecting the temporary impacts of transitions in product portfolio and dealer inventory reduction initiatives.
