By Steven Symes 
Multinational automaker Stellantis says it will idle several of its European Plants, thanks to lower demand on the market. In other words, nobody wants the vehicles those factories assemble, so workers are getting unpaid vacation.
Jaguar Land Rover has extended its production shutdown into October.
Among the facilities to be idled is one located in Pomigliano, Italy that assembles the Fiat Pand and Alfa Romeo Tonale crossovers. That production pause begins September 29, with no end date supplied by Stellantis.
The factory in Poissy, France will be idled from October 13 to October 31. It produces multiple Opel and DS cars.
This is all in response to low market demand. While a lot of Stellantis brands have been considered bottom of the barrel, recent events in Europe have made competition in that market fiercer than before.
While those two production stoppages have been admitted by the automaker, apparently several more are planned but haven’t been announced.
Among them are the facilities in Tychy, Poland, one in Eisenach, Germany as well as two unnamed facilities located in Spain, reports The Detroit News.
This combines with Stellantis stumbling with its cash cow brands here in North America. Taking away the Hemi from Dodge, Ram, and Jeep, among other controversial moves, has really put the company in a pinch.
We know a lot of automakers have been struggling with falling demand, idling factories at times to keep from having too much of an oversupply of vehicles. But this is perhaps the most extreme measure we’ve seen taken this year.
It’s well-known Stellantis’ European brands contain a lot of dead weight. Plus, most of them aren’t available in the US market. With Europe’s automotive market plunged into chaos thanks in large part to the Chinese automakers crashing in with low prices subsidized by the Chinese Communist Party, Stellantis seems to really be taking it on the nose.
Image via Stellantis