Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has started a three-day visit in Detroit, where he will seek to develop a strategy to fix the automaker's struggling North American operations and reassure employees and investors, two people familiar with the plans said.<
The strategy is likely to be developed by the end of this week, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified.
While Tavares typically visits the North American operations every four to six weeks, the CEO's visit this week during his summer break is meant to send a clear signal, the two sources said.
Stellantis is ending production for its Ram 1500 Classic pickup truck, and that will result in the automaker cutting its Warren (Mich.) Truck Assembly Plant from two daily shifts to one beginning in October. As required by federal law, Stellantis filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with state and local authorities and the United Auto Workers union.
Stellantis said the cuts would "better align resources while preserving the critical skills needed to protect our competitive advantage as we remain laser focused on implementing our EV product offensive and our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan."
Employees who are laid off will receive severance and other job transition assistance, the company said.
"This isn't going to be the last," a person briefed on the matter told Automotive News on Friday. "They are going to be doing this in waves so they can game the WARN Act."
Celebrating innovation and successful collaborations, Stellantis N.V. today recognized 11 top-performing technology startups with the second annual Stellantis Venture Awards.
The Venture Awards accentuate Stellantis’ dedication to delivering customer-focused technology and features, powering the Dare Forward 2030 ambition for global clean, safe and affordable mobility.
Chrysler-parent Stellantis said Monday it is offering 6,400 U.S. salaried employees voluntary buyouts as it works to cut costs amid the transition to electric vehicles and agreeing to a new United Auto Workers contract.
The buyouts would be about half the company's salaried U.S. employees not represented by a union, which is currently 12,700. Another 2,500 Stellantis U.S. salaried workers are unionized and are not being offered the current buyout.
General Motors and Stellantis on Friday proposed raising top wages for UAW members to more than $40 per hour by 2027. GM also offered "substantial" improvements on other issues as it aims to end the strike now entering its sixth week.
Stellantis' imperative to reduce its fixed-cost structure in pursuit of more affordable EVs is clashing with the UAW's demands for higher wages and benefits at the bargaining table.
It's not that there aren't many electric vehicles at the $25,000 price point that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares asserts is the sweet spot.
There are none at all, from Stellantis or any other manufacturer, with sticker prices below that mark today.
More than 1,000 union members at Stellantis' castings plant in Kokomo, Ind., went on strike Saturday after contract negotiations broke down, putting pressure on a key link in the automaker’s production of engines and transmissions for vehicles sold in North America.
Italian component suppliers see their small average size struggling to adapt to industry changes following the merger of local carmaker Fiat Chrysler with PSA which created Stellantis, a trade lobby group survey has showed.
Reuters noted most of the Italian parts suppliers surveyed by Italian automotive industry lobby ANFIA did not give a final judgment about consequences of the creation of Stellantis, now the world’s fourth largest carmaker.
