TOLEDO, Ohio — All was quiet Tuesday afternoon at the Toledo Assembly Complex, better known as the home of the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator.
Both plants that are normally busy producing Jeeps are shut down. But why is that?
For the Toledo North Plant, which houses production for the Jeep Wrangler, Stellantis reps said it's an easy fix, explaining in a statement that the company is waiting on some third-party supplies.
"Due to an issue with an external supplier, production at Stellantis' Toledo North Assembly plant has been disrupted," a Stellantis spokesperson said. "We are monitoring the situation on a shift-by-shift basis."
Meanwhile, United Auto Workers Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower said he has heard it's actually two easy fixes.
"It's a model mix issue, is what they're telling me," Baumhower said. "To get the dealers what they want on their lots. Also, they're telling me they're short on wire harnesses, so it's just those two things."
But the shutdown of the Toledo South Plant, the line that produces the Jeep Gladiator, is another matter.
"The Gladiator is a whole different story," Baumhower said.
According to Baumhower, the Toledo South shutdown is because they're preparing for a big change for the vehicle.
"We're getting ready to convert the Gladiator over to a hybrid, and that's supposed to happen in October," Baumhower said.
However, he said production can't start until Stellantis clears out its current inventory of 2024 models.
"Apparently they have some of those back ordered that they have to clean out," Baumhower said. "And then we'll move over to the '25s (model year) and over to the hybrid for those who want it."
But when will that be?
According to Carfigures.com, Jeep only sold a little more than 27,000 Gladiators last year, which is down significantly from the nearly 78,000 sold in 2022. Baumhower said sales have continued to be sluggish into the summer.
"The Gladiator has struggled in the market," said Baumhower.
WTOL 11 reached out to Stellantis regarding the shutdown of the Gladiator line as well, and in a statement, a spokesperson said the automaker is making "production adjustments where necessary to improve its competitiveness in the marketplace."
So while Baumhower said Wrangler employees will likely go back to work by the end of the week, he can't put a date on when Gladiator employees will return to work.
But he promises they have no reason to be worried.
"Long term, I think we're going to be fine," Baumhower said. "These things are aggravating to some people, and to other people, they can go play a few rounds of golf."
Baumhower said all of the workers that are currently laid off and are currently receiving unemployment and sub pay and are making 95% of their normal wages while they wait to return to work.
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