Stellantis says the ongoing UAW strike is prompting it to cancel its plans for next year’s CES, the massive technology show held every January in Las Vegas.
The company and other automakers have increasingly used the event, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, to highlight their technology pieces by unveiling vehicles and their displays even as they scale back their displays at traditional auto shows.
The company that owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands attributed its decision to the costs of the strike. The United Auto Workers strike against specific facilities at Stellantis, Ford and General Motors is now more than a month old.
“With a focus on maintaining business fundamentals in the wake of ongoing UAW negotiations, Stellantis is canceling its CES 2024 show and presentations as part of a contingency plan implemented since the beginning of the UAW strike,” according to a press release from Stellantis on Tuesday. “(The company) is implementing comprehensive countermeasures to mitigate financial impacts and preserve capital, and will continue to demonstrate its transformation into a mobility technology company through other means.”
more: The UAW strike at a major milestone: What the union’s history says about strategy
“In light of the current state of negotiations in the United States, maintaining the fundamentals of the business and thus protecting the future of the company is a top priority for Stellantis’ leadership,” the company said.
Messages seeking comment were sent to both the UAW and CES.
more: Striking UAW members say they want back benefits they gave up in 2007-2009: What they lost
It’s not clear what Stellantis has planned to show off at CES, but the news that the automaker will be pulling out of the event could be considered significant. The automaker, which has described CES as “the world’s most influential technology event,” announced in November 2022 that it would move the planned unveiling of the Ram 1500 battery electric vehicle concept from the eve of that year’s Los Angeles Auto Show to CES in January. this year. . . Production of the company’s first electric pickup is scheduled to begin next year, although few details have been revealed about the vehicle, now known as the Ram 1500 REV.
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