KOKOMO — Stellantis announced 700 employees will be temporarily laid off at the Kokomo Transmission and Casting Plants, effective Friday.
According to Stellantis, the layoffs are a consequence of the strike action at the Toledo Assembly Complex.
"These plants have reached maximum inventory levels of the parts or components they supply for the Jeep® Wrangler or Jeep Gladiator," the company said in a statement.
The Kokomo Casting Plant and Transmission Plant employ about 3,000 workers combined.
An employee of the casting plant, who refused to let WRTV 6 use his name, said he and his co-workers were shocked by the layoffs.
"It's kind of scary, you know?" the employee said. "It's the best job I've ever had, and I don't want to see it go."
The employee, who is represented by UAW Local 1166, said he has tried to keep the faith and enthusiasm since the labor dispute started. He said the layoffs reminded him that his job is in limbo if the union and Stellantis cannot find common ground.
"I was thinking more was going to happen faster, I guess. It's just dragging out a lot longer than I was hoping it would," said the employee, who was not laid off. "I'm ready to get it over with and get back to normal."
Stellantis now has 1,340 employees on temporary layoff across three states. The unnamed employee worries more layoffs could come to Kokomo soon.
"It's either a layoff or a strike," he said. "One of the two is pretty inevitable."
Stellantis, formerly Chrysler, provided the following graphic that shows the strike impact on business:
