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Stellantis wants to trim 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs, UAW says

WASHINGTON — Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV wants to cut approximately 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs and is offering voluntary exit packages, according to a United Auto Workers union letter made public Tuesday. The automaker is looking to reduce its hourly workforce offering incentive packages that include $50,000 payments for workers hired before 2007, UAW Local 1264 said in a letter dated Monday posted on its Facebook page. Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson declined to comment. A person briefed on the matter said the figure might be lower than the figure cited in the UAW letter. In late February, Stellantis indefinitely halted operations at an assembly plant in Illinois, citing rising costs of electric vehicle production. The action impacted about 1,350 workers at the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that built the Jeep Cherokee SUV and resulted in indefinite layoffs. The automaker has warned it may not resume operations as it considers other options. The UAW letter said openings created by workers leaving would be filled by workers on indefinite layoff. Stellantis said in February that about 40,000 U.S. hourly workers were eligible for profit sharing. Last week, UAW President Shawn Fain said Stellantis' decision to idle the Illinois plant was "a flat-out violation" of the union's contract with the UAW and is unacceptable. The UAW will enter talks with the Detroit Three before labor contracts expire in mid-September. Earlier this month, General Motors said about 5,000 salaried workers accepted buyouts to leave the automaker. GM CEO Mary Barra said February job cuts of a few hundred jobs and the 5,000 buyouts "provided approximately $1 billion towards" a $2 billion cost cutting target. Ford Motor Co recently announced significant job cuts in Spain, Germany and other parts of Europe and in August said it would cut a total of 3,000 salaried and contract jobs, mostly in North America and India. Hirings/Firings/Layoffs UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Stellantis

2017 Chrysler Pacifica scores near top on minivan mpg

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica gets 28 miles per gallon fuel economy on the highway, 18 mpg city, and 22 mpg combined, according to the government's newly announced estimates. Those figures compare well to the 2016 Town & Country's EPA rating of 25 mpg highway, 17 mpg city, and 20 mpg combined. They also make the new minivan among the most efficient models in its class, although not quite the king. These fuel economy figures only apply to the 2017 Pacifica with the 3.6-liter V6, which makes 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, and the nine-speed automatic. We will have to wait until the second half of the year to find out how the plug-in hybrid performs, but the brand believes at least 80 MPGe is possible. Chrysler also plans to make stop-start available later, which will increase real-world fuel numbers. Compared to the currently on-sale competitors, the 2017 Pacifica is among the top, but there are two clear rivals. The 2016 Honda Odyssey has EPA ratings of 28/19/22. Those figures match the Chrysler on the highway and combined, but beat it by one mpg in the city. The other challenger is the 2016 Nissan Quest at 27/20/23. The Nissan wins by two mpg in the city and one mpg combined, but the Pacifica wins by one on the highway. According to Fueleconomy.gov, the front-wheel drive Toyota Sienna and Kia Sedona match the Pacifica's 18 mpg city rating, but they can't beat its combined or highway numbers. Related Video: All-new Gasoline-powered 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Offers Unsurpassed Fuel Economy, Greener Ownership Experience 28-mpg highway unsurpassed in minivan segment; 12 percent better than model it replaces Combined-cycle rating of 22 mpg is 10 percent better Improved fuel efficiency contributes to nine-percent reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) All-new Pacifica's superior performance attributable to engineering enhancements, such as: Upgraded version of award-winning Pentastar V-6 TorqueFlite transmission; world's first minivan application of nine-speed automatic gearbox Best-in-class aerodynamics Aggressive weight-reduction strategies March 8, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan has earned a highway-cycle fuel-economy rating of 28 miles per gallon (mpg) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – a benchmark unsurpassed by any minivan on the market. It is also 12 percent better than the vehicle Pacifica replaces.

What we think we know about Chrysler's plug-in hybrid minivan, CUV

When the 2016 Town & Country comes to Chrysler dealerships, it will sport something no production minivan has ever had: a plug. That was on bit of news hidden in the massive Fiat Chrysler (FCA) product preview held in Detroit on Tuesday. All FCA would say about the minivan was that the Town & Country PHEV would get 75 MPGe. We know from the product preview slide (click to enlarge) that there are actually two plug-in hybrids coming from FCA. The minivan and a "full-size crossover," due in 2017. While that could describe the next-gen Dodge Journey, it could also be a brand new peoplemover. All FCA said officially was that it will be a "new vehicle or renewal of existing nameplate," which seems like an awful broad definition. We were curious to know more about these products, so we asked FCA spokesman Eric Mayne. Sadly, he was less than forthcoming, telling AutoblogGreen, "I can only refer you back to the presentations in which the PHEV is mentioned. If the answers aren't there, you'll have to wait." There are actually two plug-in hybrids coming from FCA. Well, sure, for actual facts we'll have to wait, but we can still speculate and look into the archives to see what plug-in vehicle technology FCA has offered in the past. Chrysler had an electric vehicle working group called ENVI that created products like an all-electric minivan for the US Postal Service (pictured). ENVI was disbanded in 2009. At the time, the company said plug-in vehicle work would continue, and since then we saw PHEV minivan and PHEV truck test programs from Chrysler and Ram. In early 2012, Chrysler started testing a small, 25-unit fleet of plug-in hybrid-electric Town & Country minivans with the city of Auburn Hills, MI, where the company is located. The $26-million demonstration project was funded in part by the US Department of Energy, which covered $10 million. The stated plan was for those minivans to each hit at least 16,800 miles over two years, but there were hiccups. In September 2012, for example, the liquid-cooled 12.1-kWh batteries from were found to overheat. Those batteries came from Electrovaya and were mated to a 3.6-liter Pentastar engine that could burn E85. Will any of this make it into the production Town & Country PHEV? No idea, but now we know where the company's coming from. FCA also has some EV experience with the Fiat 500e. Chrysler says electrification has been over-blown by the media.