Stellantis pushes to 2 000 ‘voluntary redundancies’ in Italy

Stellantis, the parent company of 14 automotive brands with Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Opel -Vauxhall, Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat as its most prominent names, wants to cut 2 000 jobs in Italy this year, some 4,3% of total Italian workforce of 47 000.

The reorganization is linked to the transition to electric car production. It concerns 2 000 ‘voluntary redundancies’ by the end of the year., as Stellantis agreed with the unions. A similar reorganization was already carried out in Italy last year.

7 000 jobs lost since 2021

The jobs will disappear mainly in departments not directly related to production. Unlike five other unions, the Fiom CGIL union refused to sign the agreement without a job creation plan. “Nearly 7 000 jobs have been lost since 2021”, the union said.

In April last year, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares assured the unions that the ‘Oser 2030’ plan is not considering closing any plant before 2030. In Italy, the group has 15 production factories. Nevertheless, certain plants will have to be transformed for the production of electric vehicles.

With his 14 different brands within Stellantis, Tavares hopes to hold 20 to 25% of the European market in 2030, and this means that production in Italy would double. But the boss remained prudent: “The size of the market will depend on how we eliminate existing obstacles in the use of EVs and how we convince people to use them.”

€30 000 bonus

According to the Reuters press agency, employees aged 50 or over and at least four years below retirement age, who agree to leave, will receive 24 months of salary, for no less than 55 000 euros, plus an extra 30 000 euros bonus.

In France, Stellantis presented a plan last February for 1 300 voluntary departures per year in 2022 and 2023, i.e., 2 600 in total. Competitor Ford announced earlier this month that it will cut 3 800 jobs in Europe before 2025 as electric vehicle production requires fewer workers. The most significant number of job cuts will be in Germany (2 300) and the UK (1 300).

Car manufacturers are still struggling with high inflation and supply chain disruptions. At the same time, they are converting their factories to produce all-electric cars.

€2 billion in premium

Stellantis, headquartered in the Netherlands, in Hoofddorp near Amsterdam, was formed in 2021 from the merger between the French PSA Group and American-Italian Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) group.

The corporation has approximately 264 000 employees with manufacturing facilities in 30 countries. Last year, it posted a record net profit of 16,8 billion euros. This represents a 26% increase for the group’s second year.

The car group will pay 4,2 billion euros in dividends for 2022, or 1,34 euros per share, up from 1,05 euros for 2021. In addition, Stellantis is allocating 2 billion euros for its employees worldwide who can expect to receive bonuses.