Stellantis lets 1,520 people leave voluntarily at Turin Mirafiori plant

Italo-Franco-US carmaker Stellantis has agreed with Italian unions that provide for 1,520 voluntary departures in Turin at the historic headquarters of the car brand Fiat. The Turin plant has been running on reduced production volumes for some time.

Those departures include 733 administrative and middle managers and 300 in the bodywork department at the Mirafiori plant, according to union Uilm. The agreement affects some 3.5% of Italy’s car giant’s workforce (43,000 people).

Weak demand for Fiat 500

The Stellantis plant in Mirafiori has been running on one shift instead of two since mid-February due to weak demand for the electric Fiat 500 and Maserati models rolling off the production line there. The reduced production volume would continue until April 20th.

To improve capacity utilization at Mirafiori, Stellantis is also considering building up to 150,000 low-cost EVs a year from Chinese partner Leapmotor in Turin from 2026 to 2027. Stellantis’ European dealers would then sell these.

The trade press also suggests that one reason for the weak demand for the Fiat 500e could be the purchase subsidy announced in Italy, which is not yet available. In early February, the cabinet announced it would set aside almost a billion euros of funding for ‘clean vehicles’ by 2024.

Interested buyers would, therefore, wait until the purchase subsidy is available and consequently postpone their EV purchases.

Increased production

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has publicly expressed annoyance at the failure to materialize that premium. Moreover, the Italian government wants Stellantis to raise its annual production in Italy to one million vehicles from around 750,000 last year, while the automaker is seeking support measures, including thus EV sales incentives.

The Fiat 500e has registered more than 185,000 units globally since its launch, according to Stellantis.