Stellantis' Belvidere Assembly Plant, was indefinitely idled at the end of February 2023. More than 1,000 people were put out of work.

The news, announced in a letter to employees from North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa on Wednesday, also provided some good news to workers in Detroit, where the next generation Dodge Durango will be built and those in Toledo, Ohio, and Kokomo, Indiana, where investments are planned.

Automaker Stellantis plans to produce a new midsize pickup truck at the assembly plant near Rockford. The move will put about 1,500 UAW-represented employees back to work.

The Belvidere factory has been a battleground for the United Auto Workers union since its six-week strike against Detroit's automakers in late 2023. In September 2024, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against the automaker,

The UAW believed the company was going back on its plant investment commitments. Now, as Trump takes office, the automaker has renewed its U.S. plans.

Stellantis’ Belvidere, Illinois, plant has a new lease on life. According to the United Auto Workers, who pressured Stellantis to reopen the plant, the Chrysler manufacturer has recommitted to reopening the plant and building a new midsized truck there.

Stellantis will also reopen its shuttered Belvidere plant in Illinois and invest in its Kokomo engine plant in Indiana.

Automaker Stellantis plans to reopen an assembly plant in Illinois and build the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit, the automaker said Wednesday. In an email to employees North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa confirmed that the plant in Belvidere,