• The Windsor Assembly Plant produces the Dodge Charger Daytona and Chrysler Pacifica. Toluca Assembly in Mexico builds two Jeep Models. Both will be idled next week.
• President Donald Trump reiterated that tariffs will apply to imported vehicles, but products that comply with the trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico appear to be exempt for now.

Stellantis is pausing production at some of its assembly plants in Mexico and Canada, including Windsor Assembly in Ontario, in light of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, but workers in the United States will also be affected, according to an email to employees Thursday morning.

The pause will lead to temporary layoffs at the Warren and Sterling stamping plants in Michigan as well as the Indiana and Kokomo transmission plants and Kokomo Casting in Indiana, according to a company spokeswoman.

However, clarity remains in short supply. Trump on Wednesday reiterated that imported automobiles would be subject to tariffs, although his executive order also appeared to spare products compliant with the trade deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Antonio Filosa, the company’s chief operating officer for the Americas, in the email, reported on earlier by the Detroit News, explained that the automaker would adapt quickly to the policy changes and protect the company.

“We are continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on our operations, but also have decided to take some immediate actions, including temporarily pausing production at some of our Canadian and Mexican assembly plants. Those actions will impact some employees at several of our U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities that support those operations,” according to the email. “These are actions that we do not take lightly, but they are necessary given the current market dynamics.”

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Filosa acknowledged that “the current environment creates uncertainty. Be assured that we are very engaged with all of our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as we work to manage and adapt to these changes. We are focused on taking responsible actions that are in the best interests of our customers, our business partners and you, our employees − wherever you work.”

Spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said Windsor, which builds the Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger Daytona, would be down for two weeks, beginning Monday, and Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico, which builds the Jeep Compass and Wagoneer S, would be down for the month of April, starting Monday. WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) put the number of temporary layoffs in the Michigan and Indiana plants at 900.

Filosa, in the email, also struck a note of encouragement, telling workers their “hard work is paying off as we’ve seen consecutive monthly market share growth since January and both the Jeep and Ram brands saw their best U.S. retail sales month of the year in March.” Those highlights were reflected in the company’s first quarter U.S. sales release this week, which showed an overall 12% decline.

Unifor National President Lana Payne, in a statement, highlighted her union’s concerns.

“Unifor warned that U.S. tariffs would hurt auto workers almost immediately and in this case the layoffs were announced before the auto tariff even came into effect,” Payne said. “Trump is about to learn how interconnected the North American production system is the hard way, with autoworkers paying the price for that lesson.”

The statement said Unifor Local 444 members were informed on Wednesday of the two-week shutdown and additional schedule changes expected in the coming weeks. The union noted that it represents more than 4,500 Stellantis workers at Windsor Assembly and others in the auto supply chain.“Our members are concerned for their jobs and frustrated by the uncertainty that these unjust and needless tariffs are creating across the industry,” Local 444 President James Stewart said in the statement. “We are prepared to fight for our jobs with the full backing of Unifor members across the country.”

UAW President Shawn Fain, when asked about the impact of the production pauses on U.S. workers, said in an email that “Stellantis continues to play games with workers’ lives. As we’ve shown time and again, they’ve got the money, the capacity, the product, and the workforce to employ thousands more UAW members in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. These layoffs are a completely unnecessary choice that the company is making.”

Fain, who has criticized Trump in the past, has spoken in favor of the president’s tariffs, saying they will boost production at underutilized U.S. facilities.

(This is a developing story.)

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