The real question is how long will UAW workers stay off the job, said Mark Wakefield, co-head of AlixPartners' automotive practice. Around 1,680 union workers company-wide agreed to take the buyout, according to a union representative. He opted for a voluntary transfer to a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has also stepped up efforts to salvage the 58-year-old Belvidere plant that once employed 4,500 union workers. Reporting by Bianca Flowers in Belvidere, Illinois Additonal reporting by Joseph White in Detroit Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Matt Frantzen, Tesla, Shawn Fain, Fain, Mark Wakefield, Wakefield, Mary Barra, Jim Farley, Barra, Farley, Carlos Tavares, Stellantis, Robert Stacy, Auston Gore, Joe Biden, J.B, Pritzker, Brandon Campbell, Bianca Flowers, Joseph White, Ben Klayman, Matthew Lewis Organizations: United Auto Workers, automakers, UAW, General Motors, Ford, Detroit, CNBC, Detroit Free Press, Stellantis, U.S, Illinois, EVs, Thomson Locations: BELVIDERE , Illinois, Illinois, Belvidere, idled, U.S, Washington, EVs, Toledo , Ohio, Chicago, Belvidere ., Michigan, Indiana, Belvidere , Illinois, Detroit