White House spokeswoman urges Stellantis to keep commitments

(This story was updated to add new information.)

A White House spokeswoman told reporters Wednesday that the Biden administration wants Stellantis to deliver on investment commitments it made in the contract negotiated last year with the UAW, as the company is reportedly weighing building its popular Ram 1500 pickup in Mexico.

The comment from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre followed a question late in a daily press briefing aired on C-SPAN about Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat, considering expanding a Mexican factory complex and the potential impact on jobs in this country. This comes as the automaker, citing market volatility and vehicle affordability, has instituted job cuts and layoffs in the United States and as it has touted to investors that it intends to move more production to “best-cost” countries.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the company, citing unidentified sources and satellite images, is expanding its factory space in northern Mexico to potentially produce Ram 1500 pickups. The truck is currently built at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, where Stellantis has promised to also build an electric pickup and continue producing a gas-powered version. Stellantis currently builds heavy-duty Ram trucks and ProMaster vans at its Saltillo, Mexico, facilities. At a Ram event this summer , the company discussed upgrades to the van plant.

Concerns about where the profitable gas-powered Ram 1500 pickup is built are not new. During last year’s strike, UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, who was then in charge of the union’s Stellantis department, said the company wanted to move the Ram 1500 from Michigan to Mexico . Boyer said then "that’s an American product. It’s going to stay here in America.”

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On Wednesday, Jean-Pierre said the administration applauded the UAW and Stellantis “for coming together after hard, good faith … negotiations, and also reaching a historic agreement that secured record raises, greater retirement security and investment in the future.” She noted that the agreement included “a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures.”

“What we want to see is Stellantis certainly deliver on those commitments to the UAW and to the communities that have long supported the industry. That’s what we want to see, and so we want Stellantis to keep their commitment,” she said.

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More recently, however, Stellantis and the UAW have been trading jabs over what the union says are the company’s failures to live up to its investment commitments, including the pledge to reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. The company disputes the contention, saying it has only delayed the Belvidere reopening, and has touted its announcement in September that it would invest $406 million at three Michigan facilities and that the Sterling Heights plant would build Ram’s first electric pickup, the Ram 1500 REV.

In its response to questions about Jean-Pierre's comments and Ram production, the company pointed to its planned investment at Sterling Heights.

"Stellantis has repeatedly stated that it remains committed to investing in the U.S. to create jobs and support its communities. The company recently announced a more than $235 million investment in its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) to support production of the Ram REV and Ramcharger. The investment will bring innovations to the plant to support a multi-energy approach that is laser-focused on meeting customer demand for not only the new electrified models but the awarding-winning ICE version, which also will continue to be produced at SHAP," according to a statement provided by Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson, referencing an abbreviation for internal combustion engine. The Ramcharger is an extended range version of the 1500 pickup that uses both gas and electric power, although the company insists it is not a hybrid.

"No other announcements have been made about production of the Ram 1500. As the company continues to manage the transition to electrification, it will continue to abide by the 2023 collective bargaining agreement," the statement said.

Another issue between the UAW and Stellantis involves Dodge Durango production. The company will not say whether it intends to move that from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, as the union contends.

The union is threatening a potential national strike over the investment issues, and the company has filed multiple lawsuits against the union.

The UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The comments during the White House briefing come as Stellantis has found itself in a swirl of headlines in recent months focused on its sales and inventory struggles , lowered financial guidance, a recent management shake-up, retirement announcement for CEO Carlos Tavares and other issues.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com . Become a subscriber . Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: White House spokeswoman urges Stellantis to keep commitments