Stellantis seeks to cut about 3,500 US jobs, union letter says

STELLANTIS is seeking to eliminate about 3,500 hourly jobs in the US ahead of the expiration this fall of a collective bargaining contract with the United Auto Workers.

Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France’s PSA Group, is planning to offer early retirement offers and buyout incentives to both skilled and production workers, according to a letter signed by Doug McIntosh, president of UAW Local 1264, which represents a Stellantis stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Jodi Tinson, a US-based spokesperson for Stellantis, declined to comment on Tuesday (Apr 25) on the letter. Both the international UAW union and the local couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The letter, which was dated as of Monday and posted on the UAW Local 1264’s social media website, was reported earlier by Automotive News.

The union and company are preparing for talks ahead of a Sep 14 deadline for a new four-year contract.

Stellantis’ chief executive officer Carlos Tavares warned in February more job cuts could be in the offing as the cost of electrification eats into the company’s profit margins. That same month, the automaker idled its Jeep plant in Belvidere, Illinois, laying off about 1,350 workers indefinitely. It also said it would cut as many as 2,000 jobs in Italy.

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“The cost of electrification is going to have an impact on the footprint of business that we are going to have around the world,” Tavares told reporters at a roundtable in Las Vegas in February. BLOOMBERG