Stellantis to pause production at Detroit plants that make Grand Cherokee
Stellantis NV's Detroit Assembly Complex plants that build Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs will pause production next week, the latest of several plant cutbacks made by the automaker in recent weeks.
The Mack and Jefferson North facilities in east Detroit will halt production for the week of April 28, with Mack also scheduled to take a week off starting May 19. A company notice sent to Mack workers said several types of employees working in paint and repair are still expected to report.
A Stellantis statement said the plant downtime is related to the transition to a refreshed 2026 Grand Cherokee set to come out later this year, though it was not clear exactly how, as the company also said that it planned to extend production of the 2025 version of the SUV for now.
'To support a successful launch and ensure the highest build quality of the new model, we are extending production of the 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the Detroit Assembly Complex plants,' the Stellantis statement from spokesperson Ann Marie Fortunate said. 'As a result, both Mack and Jefferson will observe a down week the week of April 28.'
Both SUVs made at Detroit Assembly Complex had sluggish sales in the first quarter, with Grand Cherokee down 11% year-over-year to 48,465 units sold, and Durango falling 9% to 13,701 sold.
Production at several Stellantis plants has been scaled back in recent weeks after President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported cars took effect at the start of April. The automaker paused production at two major assembly plants, one in Mexico and one in Canada, which triggered about 900 temporary layoffs at several of its American powertrain and stamping facilities.
The Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico, which builds the Jeep Compass crossover and Jeep Wagoneer S electric SUV, will remain idle through the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the Windsor Assembly Plant, which builds Chrysler minivans and the Dodge Charger Daytona electric muscle car, resumes production for two shifts on Tuesday following the last two weeks off, bringing several thousand employees who were on temporary layoff back to work.
'As a result, more than half of the employees from Sterling Stamping, Indiana Transmission, Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting who were put on temporary layoff when production was paused the week of April 7 also will return to work to support the Windsor operations,' the company said in a statement.
Stellantis' Warren Truck Assembly Plant, which builds Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs, also remains down through early May. The company said that production stoppage was due to an engine shortage, not tariffs, as the company has recently routed more of its 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo six-cylinder engines used in the Jeep SUVs toward the better-selling Ram 1500 pickups that are made at nearby Sterling Heights Assembly Complex.
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