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Dakkota workers denounce Detroit plant closure that will cut 397 jobs

Dakkota workers denounce Detroit plant closure that will cut 397 jobs

Money Moves Detroit, MI local

The auto supplier filed a WARN notice in October; the plant opened five years ago with state subsidies.

2 days ago: Workers denounce closure in interviews

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Dakkota Integrated Systems plans to close its Detroit plant and eliminate 397 jobs, according to a WARN notice the company filed with the state of Michigan on October 19. The shutdown comes in two stages: one line stops December 31, cutting 205 jobs, and a second stops March 31, 2027, cutting 192 more.

The company says it lost the contract to build instrument panels for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. Workers interviewed by the World Socialist Web Site reject that account, saying owner Andra Rush wants to replace the union workforce with cheaper labor through a non-union sister company. Both claims matter because the plant was sold to the city as proof that Stellantis's Mack Assembly Plant would spread jobs to local suppliers.

Why it matters

The closure tests whether the supplier jobs promised alongside Detroit's first new auto plant in decades actually materialize for the workers who took them.

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Key Indicators

397
Jobs eliminated
Total positions cut across two shutdown stages, per the October WARN notice.
2
Closure stages
First line stops December 31, 2026; second on March 31, 2027.
$19.50
Starting wage under March contract
Up from $15.50 when the plant opened, according to a worker.
$5M
Public subsidies to open
$1.5 million state grant plus a $3.5 million tax abatement, per workers.
5
Years since the plant opened
The facility opened around 2021 on the site of the closed Kettering High School.

Voices

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People Involved

AR
Andra Rush
Owner of Dakkota Integrated Systems; founder and CEO of Rush Group
Overseeing the planned wind-down of the Detroit plant
AR
Aaron Rivers
Chief executive of Dakkota Integrated Systems
Publicly attributed the closure to losing the Stellantis contract

Organizations Involved

DI
Dakkota Integrated Systems, LLC
Auto parts supplier
Closing its Detroit plant in two stages

A Detroit-based supplier that builds instrument panels and interior components for Stellantis SUVs.
LO
UAW Local 155
Labor union local
Representing Dakkota workers; national leadership has not commented

The union local that represents hourly workers at the Detroit plant.
Stellantis
Stellantis
Automaker
The plant's customer; did not renew the instrument-panel contract

The automaker whose Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit is the anchor the Dakkota plant was built to supply.

Timeline

2019 October 2026

5 events Latest: 2 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Workers denounce closure in interviews

    Latest Statement

    Workers reject the outbid explanation and accuse the owner of seeking cheaper labor.

  2. Dakkota files WARN notice

    Layoff

    Company notifies Michigan it will close the plant and cut 397 jobs in two stages.

  3. Workers ratify new contract

    Labor

    UAW Local 155 deal lifts starting pay to $19.50 an hour; workers say back pay was withheld.

  4. Dakkota opens Detroit plant

    Investment

    Built with a $1.5 million state grant and a $3.5 million tax abatement on a closed school site.

  5. Stellantis opens Mack Assembly Plant

    Investment

    Detroit's first new assembly plant in 30 years anchors hopes that suppliers will follow.

Scenarios

1

Both lines shut down, all 397 jobs cut

Likely Resolves by Apr 15, 2027

Discussed by: The company's WARN notice and the scope reported by the World Socialist Web Site

Dakkota follows the notice as filed: the first line stops at the end of 2026, the second at the end of March 2027. No buyer or new contract appears, and the workforce disperses. This is the path the company has committed to publicly.

2

Work shifts to non-union Emotiv Mobility at lower pay

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Dakkota workers interviewed by the World Socialist Web Site

If the work is not simply lost but moved, Dakkota workers suspect it lands at Rush's non-union venture Emotiv Mobility or another affiliated operation. Workers would have to reapply and restart near the bottom of a pay scale. The company has not confirmed this plan.

3

Union or state intervention delays or shrinks the closure

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: Workers calling for a rank-and-file campaign to defend the jobs

Workers and local allies press the state or the union to challenge the closure, find a buyer, or attach conditions to the subsidies the plant received. Such efforts rarely reverse a supplier wind-down, but they can delay a stage or trim the layoff count.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 2023

Stellantis idles Belvidere Assembly Plant (2023)

Stellantis halted production at its Belvidere, Illinois, plant and laid off roughly 1,200 workers who built the Jeep Cherokee. The move came as the company cut costs and shifted production, and it fed into the 2023 United Auto Workers strike.

Then

The plant went idle and workers were laid off despite a national contract fight that focused partly on the closure.

Now

The plant stayed down, showing that assembly-level decisions can strand a region even when a union contract is won elsewhere.

Why this matters now

Dakkota's closure shows the same dynamic one tier down: decisions made at the automaker level can wipe out a supplier's workforce with little warning.

November 2018 - 2019

General Motors closes Lordstown Assembly (2018-2019)

GM announced it would stop building the Chevrolet Cruze at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant, affecting roughly 1,600 hourly workers. The closure became a symbol of manufacturing job loss in the region and was a flashpoint in the 2019 UAW strike.

Then

Production ended and the plant was sold to a startup, Lordstown Motors.

Now

The buyer filed for bankruptcy in 2023, and the promised replacement jobs never materialized at scale.

Why this matters now

It shows how hard it is to replace auto jobs once a plant closes, and why workers treat closure notices as more than a temporary setback.

Sources

(1)
World Socialist Web Site