UAW president stresses ‘excess capacity’ in US amid tariffs, auto layoffs

United Auto Workers (UAW) Shawn Fain stressed that there is an “excess capacity” in the auto industry within the United States amid President Trump’s tariffs and layoffs at certain manufacturers.

Fain joined CNN’s “The Source” on Thursday, just a day after the Trump administration’s import tariffs went into place and following the news that Stellantis was halting production at plants in Canada and Mexico and had plans to lay off 900 U.S. employees.

“There is excess capacity all over this country right now, and Stellantis has excess capacity right in Warren, Michigan, where they're laying people off again, they can move Ram truck production there, in very short order, by producing Ram Trucks,” Fain said.

Stellantis produces Ram, Jeep, Chrysler and other cars. Fain noted that he took CNN’s interview from Chattanooga, Tenn., where a Volkswagen manufacturing plant is. Volkswagen produces 75 percent of their cars in Mexico, he said.

“There’s excess capacity right here at this plant,” he said, pointing to how Trump’s tariffs on other countries could help auto manufacturers domestically.

While Fain supported the Democratic candidates in the most recent election, he has backed Trump’s tariff plan because he’s in support of manufacturing jobs returning to the U.S.

Fain has noted that while he is in favor of Trump’s tariffs, it doesn’t mean he is siding with the administration on everything. He continues to push for union and labor rights.

After it was announced that Stellantis would scale back some operations amid the tariffs, Fain argued that Ford has taken steps to drop the price of vehicles for U.S. consumers and extended discounts. GM also said it would “bring some work back” to the U.S., he said.

“People forget about the arsenal of democracy and how excess capacity in this country was used to support the war effort and delivered a victory in World War II for America,” Fain said. “And so, we really have to look at reality and quit using fear tactics and scare tactics talking about this."