Stellantis is the latest automaker to take an aggressive approach to cost cutting. According to recent reports, the maker of Jeep and Chrysler will offer buyouts to 31,000 hourly and 2,500 salaried employees in the hopes of cutting 3,500 positions.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has spent months warning of the impacts of electrification on the company, and blamed related costs for the recent closure of a Jeep plant in Belvidere, IL. The Detroit News obtained a copy of a letter sent to Stellantis employees from COO Mark Stewart that reportedly details the company’s need to become more efficient throughout this transition, adding that “the cost of electrification cannot be passed on to the customer.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a similar move by GM, who - in March - offered voluntary buyouts to tens of thousands of salaried workers – later revealing that around 5,000 had accepted the offer. Stellantis is said to be offering the buyouts to “designated non-represented U.S. employees with 15 or more years of service.”
The latest move by Stellantis adds pressure amid a contentious period between the Big 3 automakers and the UAW. As evidence, in widely reported comments by newly elected president Shawn Fain, he referred to the Detroit 3 as “the enemy.”
This week, Fain has directed his ire specifically at Stellantis, calling their buyout offer “disgusting” while pointing to the automaker’s $18 billion global profit for fiscal year 2022.
Fain adds in a statement that this offer is “a slap in the face to our members, their families, their communities, and the American people who saved this company 15 years ago.” He goes on to say that “politicians and taxpayers are bankrolling the electric vehicle transition, and this is the thanks the working class gets. Shame on Stellantis.”
“Separation dates” are said to begin June 30 and run through the end of the year.
