The United Auto Workers union reported that “strategic” tariffs on imported heavy trucks are directly boosting new hiring and expanding production at the Detroit Diesel manufacturing complex in Michigan.
In a Facebook post announcing the development, UAW International Union stated that Detroit Diesel will add a third shift, recall laid-off workers, and hire additional employees at its facility in the Detroit area.
UAW President Shawn Fain declared: “Strategic, targeted tariffs are an important tool in the toolbox to undo the damage of our free trade disaster and bring back good union jobs to the U.S.”
Fain further emphasized: “Companies like Detroit Diesel, and their parent company Daimler Truck North America, need to step up to reinvest in the workers who make the product and stop laying off American workers while making billions in profit. We applaud this first step in the right direction.”
The union noted that these advancements follow months of lobbying efforts that led to a federal decision in October imposing a 25% tariff on heavy truck imports. The policy was designed to discourage offshoring and encourage domestic manufacturing investments.
Detroit Diesel, which produces diesel engines and axles at a plant spanning Detroit and Redford Township, Michigan, employs approximately 3,000 workers and has long been central to the state’s heavy truck industry.
UAW Region 1A Director Mark DePaoli stated: “Detroit Diesel UAW members build a high-quality product that makes this company billions, and it’s only right that this company would invest right here in Michigan and recognize that success.”
DePaoli congratulated UAW members returning from layoff and those who will join the union with new job opportunities.
The plant, originally formed as a General Motors subsidiary in 1938 and now owned by Daimler Truck North America, follows recent labor developments in the region. In 2025, workers at the Detroit Diesel Axle unit voted to ratify a contract including profit-sharing and cost-of-living adjustments after authorizing a strike.
