Plant Closures Are the Tip of the Auto Companies’ Anti-Worker Spear
Plant closures are one of automakers’ most brutal tools to discipline the workforce. The UAW’s new reform leadership will have to lead a fight against such closures to reverse the decades of concessions forced upon workers.
A worker leaves the Belvidere Assembly Plant, idled indefinitely as of February 28. Stellantis was the largest employer in Belvidere, Illinois. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
On March 1, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) “idled” the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois — putting 1,350 people out of work indefinitely, with the threat hanging over them that the plant might stay closed forever.
Is Stellantis hurting for money? Absolutely not. In fact, the corporation has recently had some of its best years on record. This is a clear attempt to use the plant as a cudgel, as the Big Three automakers head into negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) this fall.
It’s a signal that, despite record profits, the companies will remain true to their same old playbook — holding people’s livelihoods over their heads and holding communities at ransom.
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