Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Separation Packages: 3,900 Workers Asked To Voluntarily Leave The Automaker

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) has reportedly offered two voluntary separation packages to employees at the Belvidere plant in Illinois.

The packages were offered to 3,900 hourly employees and confirmed by fiat Chrysler Automobiles spokesperson Jodi Tinson, who told WREX, an NBC affiliate out of Rockford, Illinois, the packages were provided to "create opportunities for those employees still on layoff."

The packages reportedly included an Incentive Program to Retire that provided a lump sum payment of $60,000 while the other package was a Voluntary Termination of Employment with varying lump sum payments based on seniority, which did not allow for recall, rehire, or reemployment with the automaker.

In a statement to the news outlet, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said, "FCA confirms that it has distributed information about two voluntary separation packages to approximately 3,900 hourly production employees at the Belvidere Assembly Plant (Ill.) as outlined in the 2019 UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement. These packages are being offered to create opportunities for those employees still on layoff. Employees have until March 11, 2020, to make an election."

The news of the separation packages comes after it was announced that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would be temporarily closing down the Belvidere assembly plant, which Tinson said had re-opened after being shut down for two weeks to align the company’s production with consumer demand.

The plant employs 3,900 workers, according to Tinson.