TOLEDO, Ohio — Jeep's almost 80-year history in Toledo has had some bumps. Most recently with the announcement that nearly 1100 Stellantis workers will be laid off following sagging sales.
WTOL 11 spoke to Toledo's mayor and an expert in the automotive industry to weigh in on what they believe is next for the automaker and the Glass City.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz sent a statement to WTOL 11 Monday, stating that despite the layoffs, he believes Jeep will continue to be a top employer and essential to Toledo's economy.
"While we know the impact of the layoffs will affect our income tax revenue, we continue to be optimistic heading into budget season that we have established a solid financial position for weathering these unexpected changes,” Kapszukiewicz wrote.
The mayor said weathering those changes includes working closely with the United Auto Workers, Lucas County and other partners to make sure all the laid-off workers land on their feet. While he acknowledges this is a setback for families, the mayor said long-term he is confident in Toledo's automotive resilience.
But WWJ automotive reporter Jeff Gilbert is less certain. He's spent nearly 30 years in the industry and he said companies like Stellantis don't like to see plants that aren't operating at full capacity or running with only one shift. Currently, the Toledo Jeep plant is guilty of both.
Gilbert said Stellantis will certainly do something to change this status quo, but whether or not this is good or bad for the plant, he said is unclear.
"They are obviously making plans. Those plans could be good news for Toledo because they could move some other product there," Gilbert said. "They could be bad news because they could move product out of Toledo. We don't really know what's going to happen. I think because the Toledo plant is relatively new, it's probable this is one they're going to prioritize, but again it's hard to say because there's a lot of factors that go into those decisions."
And there could be more changes at the plant.
A new EV Gladiator line is slated to be coming to the plant, but Gilbert said with the upcoming Trump administration moving away from electric vehicles, many automakers are likely to rethink their EV product lines.
WTOL 11 tried reaching out to UAW Local 12's president for comment but did not hear back.