By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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BELVIDERE — As the region waits to learn the long-term fate of the Belvidere Assembly Plant, an effort is underway to keep the hundreds of workers at the factory and its supplier facilities working in the area.
Workforce and economic development leaders here say there are enough companies in need of skilled labor to absorb the employees laid off after Stellantis decided to idle its Belvidere factory on Feb. 28.
There were more than 1,300 people let go from Stellantis after the factory idled and an additional 730 from seven supplier facilities in the region, according to Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining notices filed with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
Related: As Belvidere plant goes idle, Stellantis announces $155M investment in EVs in Indiana
Keeping those workers employed here is important to the economic vitality of the region, and it could play a role in future businesses’ choice to locate here and the automaker’s decision of whether to retool the Belvidere facility for another vehicle.
“When companies are looking at any area, their first question is workforce. Their second question is workforce and the third is workforce as well,” said Therese Thill, president of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. “Anything we can do to keep these employees local is going to benefit our current employers … and it makes it more attractive to anyone else looking at the Rockford area.”
The state launched a strategy it calls rapid response after Stellantis announced in December that it would idle the factory indefinitely. It works to connect laid off workers with assistance and future job opportunities. Part of that effort includes a hiring event Thursday for laid off employees to connect with more than 30 potential employers.
“Those workshops are meant to bring the services to the affected workers,” said Gina Caronna, executive director of The Workforce Connection, one of 22 regional workforce boards established by the state. “The ability to connect into those services doesn’t end at the workshops. We just want to do those events to make it as convenient as possible for the people affected.”
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The region’s unemployment rate was 5.4% in December, the most recent rate available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the lowest rate since 4.9% in February 2020, shortly before the coronavirus arrived here.
Carrone said the region has a need for highly skilled and trained workers like those from Stellantis. Those workers, who have been recognized by J.D. Power for manufacturing quality, are also what could still make this region attractive for the automaker to retool its facility, state Rep. Dave Vella said.
The state has worked for the past two years to incentivize Stellantis to retool the facility for an electric vehicle, and Vella said the company’s continued talks with the governor’s office are a good sign.
“No one’s going to put this much work from the Stellantis side if they’re not interested in the plant. Now, they’re also interested in other places and they could go other places,” said Vella, a Democrat from Loves Park. “The Belvidere plant is a world class plant, and I think they understand that, and I think they want to find a way to repurpose that place.”
Vella said his office is trying to help Stellantis employees connect with any resources they need.
“I want to make sure we keep as many of those workers around as possible just in case we can get them back” at the Belvidere Assembly Plant, Vella said.
Last of the line. Now what?
One week ago, a black Jeep Cherokee rolled off the line at the Belvidere Assembly Plant to mark the end of an era at the factory. The first Plymouth Fury was built there in summer 1965, and after more than 20 models and multiple owners, the final Cherokee represented vehicle No. 11,714,918, according to United Auto Workers.
Now, state and local leaders say it’s up to Stellantis to decide the factory’s future after they’ve put their incentive offer in place. The company has said it wants to find a new use for the facility, and the UAW says it will continue to demand the automaker put a product in the Belvidere plant. The plant’s future could be a significant issue in the national contract talks between the company and the UAW this summer.
“We’re every day hopeful and some days optimistic that we may be able to have a real future for that site and, for frankly, growing jobs beyond what already existed there,” Gov. JB Pritzker said during a late-January visit to Rockford. “It’s something that’s in the hands of private-sector interests, and we’re just working hard to help along their decision making to bring back and grow jobs.”
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Pritzker, who was answering off-topic questions from reporters at a separate news event, also stressed the importance of keeping the plant’s workers here.
“We obviously don’t want anybody getting up and leaving,” Pritzker said. “That’s why we’re working furiously and fast to try to secure whatever we can working with Stellantis. We want people to stay. We want to make sure we’re growing jobs and making more jobs available to people.”
Stellantis hasn’t offered a timeline for determining the fate of the plant. In announcing it would idle the factory in December it said layoffs would exceed six months.
“They have to decide what it is that they want and how valuable it is to have an already trained workforce that’s ready, willing and able, right here,” Pritzker said. “That’s a decision that will get made in private rooms within their company.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a call with reporters last week that the company was looking for a solution for the Belvidere plant, but he said there were significant challenges. He told reporters it costs about 40% more to build an electric vehicle compared to internal combustion engine technology, and passing the added cost on to consumers would make the vehicles unaffordable.
He said the push for electrification is coming from the government rather than automakers.
He didn’t name any specific concessions sought from Belvidere workers. “This is a global issue. This is not a Belvidere issue,” he said.
UAW said last week that Stellantis has a “pattern of starving facilities of a product” that creates uncertainty for workers and raises questions about the company’s commitment to the U.S. market, where about half of its revenue comes.
“UAW workers deserve better,” the union said in a statement. “U.S. taxpayers who subsidize Stellantis deserve better. And U.S. consumers deserve better.”
Organizations such as the RAEDC, which works to promote economic development in the region, have to start thinking about what could fill the factory if Stellantis doesn’t go forward with retooling, Thill said.
“I’m thinking about it now,” Thill siad. “The last thing we want is something sitting there for 10-15 years.
“The sooner we can start working on that the better because it’s going to be a multiyear process.”
Layoffs
The idling of the Belvidere Assembly Plant led to the layoff of more than 1,300 employees and created a ripple effect of job loss at companies who made supplies for the plant. Many of the layoffs listed below were preceded by other reductions in jobs as production slowed at the Belvidere Assembly Plant.
119 Adient, 1701 Bethany Road, Sycamore
73 Android Industries Belvidere, 1222 Crosslink Parkway, Belvidere
31 Cassens Transport Company, 3060 Grant Highway, Belvidere
161 Magna Exteriors, 675 Corporate Parkway, Belvidere
35 Nova Wildcat Shur-Line, 1750 S. Lincoln Drive, Freeport
1,321 Stellantis Belvidere Assembly Plant, 3000 W. Chrysler Drive, Belvidere
148 Syncreon, 3142 W. Chrysler Drive, Belvidere
164 Yanfeng International Automotive Technology, 775 Logistics Drive, Belvidere
Source: Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining notices, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Hiring event
What: Meet with more than 30 employers from a variety of industries in one place.
When: 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 9
Where: UAW Hall 1268, 1100 W. Chrysler Drive, Belvidere
Contact: Need help updating your resume? Contact The Workforce Connection at 815-547-9616
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.