The 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel pickup truck will be on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15, 2018.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Detroit – Automobile Manufacturing Company Stellantis General Motors has announced that it plans to lay off up to 2,450 workers at its U.S. factories indefinitely later this year, as it stops production of the older version of its Ram 1500 pickup truck in Michigan.
The truck has been widely used as a low-cost truck to sell to entry-level buyers and fleet customers since the automaker introduced the new-generation Ram 1500 in 2018. It is produced alongside the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant, located near Detroit.
The current Ram 1500, which was recently updated for the 2025 model year, is produced at a nearby plant. Operations at that plant will continue as planned.
“With the introduction of the new Ram 1500, production of the Ram 1500 Classic at the Warren, Michigan, Truck Assembly Plant will end later this year,” the company said in an emailed statement.
The discontinuation of the Ram 1500 Classic isn’t surprising, but the company hasn’t announced any replacement vehicles. That’s a concern for local governments, workers and the United Auto Workers union, which represents the plant.
Stellantis, GM, Ford stock prices
A union spokesman did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Ram CEO Chris Fuel told CNBC last week that the “classic” version of the truck will be phased out by the end of this year.
The layoffs are expected to begin in 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 offered other jobs or positions at other plants.
The layoffs are the latest for Stellantis, which has cut production at several of its plants amid sales problems and cost-cutting measures.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission since the company was formed through a merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group in January 2021. It’s part of his “Dare Forward 2030” plan to boost profits and double revenues to 300 billion euros, or $325 billion, by 2030.
Last week, the automaker offered a broad voluntary buyout of salaried U.S. workers in an effort to cut staff and costs. Stellantis, which reported disappointing first-half results last year, said if enough employees don’t participate in the buyout, involuntary layoffs could follow.
