Stellantis just announced that it will idle its Belvidere, Illinois assembly plant, which makes the Jeep Cherokee. That’s a typical move during model changes or reconfiguration plants to build new vehicles. What is not normal is that with this announcement come “indefinite layoffs.” While Jeep won’t reveal its plans, it begs the question: Is this the end of the Cherokee?
What did Jeep say is the reason for stopping the Cherokee plant?
Stellantis says the reason the plant is idle is due to the costs of electric vehicles. Or rather, “rising cost related to the electrification of the car”. Halting production at Belvidere “will streamline operations,” according to the company statement. It will stop production at the end of February.
The indefinite layoffs “are expected to exceed six months and may constitute a loss of employment under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.” But leaving a plant idling is different than shutting it down. And Stellantis says it is “working to identify other opportunities to reuse the Belvidere facility and has no additional details to share.” the Chicago Tribune says more than 1,350 workers will be laid off.
When will Cherokee production end?
Simply, when you “reuse” something, that means looking for a different purpose for its existence. It has no other meaning. So without saying you’ll be looking for something else to do in Belvidere, that’s what this means. We say this to make it clear that the Jeep Cherokee will not be built there after February.
Now perhaps Jeep will consolidate production of the Cherokee at another plant. That is a possibility. But it is a small possibility. It could also mean that at some point almost everything Jeep makes will go electric, and that also means that eventually production will end for everything Jeep makes, the Cherokee being the first. It could mean that but…
Looking at how the Cherokee has fared over the past two years doesn’t paint a good picture. From a peak of almost 240,000 sales in 2018, it has plummeted to 89,000 in 2021. So far this year, which is almost over, it has plummeted even more. He averages around 3,500 sales a month. Projecting, that comes to 42,000, less than half of its sales in 2021. That’s not good.
The Cherokee has overcome a number of problems
Unfortunately, layoffs have been the norm in Belvidere for years, including earlier this year. Part of this revolves around the ongoing supply chain issues that have plagued the industry in recent years. Then there’s the whole debate over the use of the Cherokee name.
Indigenous people have opposed its use, engaging Jeep in negative publicity for its use while defending the name. It’s just one more blow against the Cherokee among many, most of which are due to its numbers falling off a cliff.
So at this point, the facts are that the plant will be dormant for more than six months. But the background explains the end of the line for the Jeep Cherokee. Will you be sad to see it’s gone?