Stellantis is closing its largest vehicle testing facility in Yucca, Arizona, after having laid off more than 1,000 auto workers at its Warren, Michigan, plant this month and about 200 auto workers at its Sterling Heights, Michigan, plant last month.
Stellantis will sell the testing site, leaving several dozen workers laid off, according to CNBC:
The Arizona Proving Grounds covers 4,000 acres between Phoenix and Las Vegas in Yucca, Arizona. It has been used for vehicle testing and development for the automaker since then-Chrysler purchased the property for $35 million from Ford Motor in 2007. [Emphasis added]
As of July 2019, the operations employed 69 people, including workers represented by a local chapter of the UAW, according to the automaker. [Emphasis added]
Despite the major cuts at Stellantis, CEO Carlos Tavares secured a 56 percent boost to his salary, raking in almost $40 million in 2023.
In May of this year, Breitbart News detailed Stellantis’s decision to outsource to low-wage engineers in Brazil, India, Mexico, and Morrocco where workers make pennies on the United States dollar. The outsourcing scheme came as Stellantis laid off about 400 American engineers.
By the end of last year, Stellantis employed just 11,000 salaried employees in the U.S. Compare that to 53,000 at General Motors (GM) and 28,000 at Ford Motor Company.
Also this month, Stellantis has started laying off some 1,100 auto workers at its Warren, Michigan, plant. Last month, Stellantis laid off about 200 auto workers in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Though the United Auto Workers (UAW) had secured a commitment from Stellantis to reopen its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois, the automaker has yet to reopen the plant.
Last month, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs (D) wrote an op-ed in the Rockford Register Star demanding Stellantis keep its end of the bargain.
“Mr. Tavares, it is time to Keep The Promise. It is time to keep your word. It is past time to reopen Belvidere,” Frerichs wrote.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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