Chrysler Corporation established its first factory in Mexico in the 1960s. In 2008, it began building many of its heavy-duty trucks south of the border. Today, only the half-ton 1500 is still made in the U.S. While Ram’s latest UAW contract requires it to keep one Michigan truck factory open, it may have found a loophole to move a bunch of Ram 1500 production to Mexico anyway.

The Wall Street Journal recently noticed Stellantis is building two new buildings on its Saltillo, Mexico compound. Analysts predicted the Ram 1500 truck assembly was moving to Mexico, and the UAW called foul.

You see, when the UAW renegotiated its Stellantis contract in 2023, it mentioned the Ram 1500’s Sterling Heights, Michigan factory by name. The contract states that Stellantis can’t move any Ram 1500 truck production out of the country (i.e., to Mexico) unless it keeps all three shifts at the Sterling Heights plant—which makes the Ram 1500. So foreign production would be overflow-only.

Ram spokesperson Nick Cappa insisted the company, “will continue to abide by the 2023 collective bargaining agreement.” But Ram may have found another way to abandon Michigan.

The Warren Truck plant lays off 1,100 Michigan workers

The Warren Truck Assembly Plant is just off Metro Detroit’s 9 Mile Road. It has built millions of trucks since 1938. Until last year, it built the Ram 1500 “Classic”—a cost-effective fourth-generation Ram 1500 aimed at fleet buyers. But Stellantis finally canceled its production of this old model. Then it laid off 1,100 workers at Warren Truck—the equivalent of an entire shift.

Today, Warren Truck makes the Jeep Wagoneer lineup, including the Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer. But it has capacity for more production.

Ram claims it’s moving truck production to Mexico to meet “market demand”

Stellantis is very optimistic about the future of Ram trucks. Ram CEO Christine Feuell admitted she’s “expanding the plant in Saltillo,” but was quick to say it’s because of the many “hand-raisers who are interested in purchasing the Ram REV.”

The Ram REV is the planned hybrid version of the 1500. She threw out the number 30,000, as if she has that many reservations. But with her vague “hand-raiser” wording, those aren’t necessarily reservation holders. She could be referring to the email list of folks who just asked for updates on the truck.

Feuell explained the 1500 factory going up in Mexico by saying, “It’s a relief valve for the Sterling Heights plant, because we know that we’ll be tapped out on capacity with the growth we’re projecting in the 1500.” Stellantis stated, “The company has been clear that while Sterling Heights Assembly will produce ICE, BEV, and REPB Ram 1500s, it may be necessary to establish a dual source within North America.” But the statement’s a dodge because Ram already has another source of half-ton truck production: Warren.

Why is Ram really moving 1500 truck production to Mexico?

Interviewers have grilled Feuell on whether she’s moving Ram 1500 production to Mexico to save money. She says the move is “because the plant in Saltillo does a really good job of managing the complexity. And they’re already building pickup trucks down there right now.”

But you know what other pickup truck plant is doing a really good job of managing complexity? The Warren Truck plant. The factory has been building V6- and V8-powered Ram 1500 Classics alongside Hurricane I6-powered Jeep Wagoneer hybrids. For years.

Moving overflow fifth-gen Ram 1500 production to Warren would keep 1,100 much-needed jobs in the Detroit metro area. It would also give Ram a second U.S. plant where it could maintain production while retooling Sterling Heights for the sixth-gen Ram 1500. But Stellantis isn’t showing us it cares about that.

Will President Trump’s tariffs make Stellantis reconsider? Unfortunately for Detroit auto workers, the answer is probably “no.” The White House stated that “importers of automobiles under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement” are allowed to continue assembling vehicles abroad, while only paying tariffs on the components that were built in Mexico.