Automaker Stellantis is temporarily halting production at a plant in Canada and a plant in Mexico shortly after President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. The move will result in the temporary layoff of 900 U.S. employees.
Stellantis, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, said Thursday it will be temporarily pausing production at the Windsor assembly plant in Canada for for the weeks of April 7 and 14. Operations will resume at the facility the week of April 21.
The company will also be temporarily pausing production at the Toluca assembly plant in Mexico for the month of April, starting on April 7.
Due to the production pause, there will be temporary layoffs at the Warren and Sterling stamping plants in Michigan and at the Indiana and Kokomo transmission plants and Kokomo casting facility in Indiana.
Stellantis plans to continuously monitor the situation to determine if further action is necessary.
In a email from North American Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa sent to employees, Filosa said that Stellantis will quickly adapt to the policy changes imposed by Trump. He noted that the actions that the company is taking “are necessary given the current market dynamics.”
“We understand that the current environment creates uncertainty,” Filosa wrote. “Be assured that we are very engaged with all of our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as we work to manage and adapt to these changes.”
Late last month Trump said he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claimed would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. Later Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will match U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% auto tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States.
Stellantis has also been dealing with some of its own challenges. In December CEO Carlos Tavares stepped down amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales.
Stellantis’ North American operations had been the company’s main source of profits for some time, but struggles piled up last year, with the company citing rising competition and larger market changes.
In efforts to revive sales, Stellantis previously made a number of leadership changes in October, which included naming new heads of operations in North America and Europe.
In January the company announced plans to reopen an assembly plant in Illinois and build the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit as it looked to resolve issues with the UAW.
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