Stellantis offers buyouts to U.S. white-collar workers

DETROIT — Jeep and Ram maker Stellantis says it will offer buyout packages to many of its U.S. white-collar workers just five days after the company’s CEO said the auto industry is in the middle of a significant storm.

The company told salaried workers that eligible employees will get individual offers in mid-August. The offers will be limited to certain job functions that Stellantis did not identify. It also wouldn’t say by how much it wants to cut the salaried workforce. The company has about 11,000 salaried workers in the U.S.

It wasn’t clear whether similar offers would be made in other countries.

In a statement Tuesday, Stellantis said it faces inflationary pressures at the same time as it tries to make affordable vehicles for its customers. “We remain focused on taking the necessary actions to reduce our costs to protect the long-term sustainability of the company,” the statement said.

The company said in an email to employees that it will provide severance pay based on years of service, as well as cash lump sum payments to help cover health care costs. It also will provide job placement services, the email said.

“We must continue to adapt by streamlining operations and finding efficiencies that will enhance our competitiveness to ensure our future sustainability and growth,” the email said.

After a disappointing first-half earnings report on Thursday, CEO Carlos Tavares said the industry is going to be in turmoil. Net profits were down 48% compared with the same period last year.

Tavares also told reporters last week that the global auto industry is caught between consumers looking for more affordable vehicles and demands for more capital spending to develop new electric and gas-powered vehicles.

In North America, Tavares said Stellantis let inventory get too high, and plans to fix that in the first half didn’t work. Sticker prices, he said, are too lofty and often send customers fleeing from showrooms early in the shopping process even though discounts are available.

In March the company said it would lay off 400 white-collar workers in the U.S. as it deals with the transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles.

In November of 2023 the company formed in the 2021 merger between PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler made buyout and early retirement offers to 6,400 nonunion salaried workers. It has not said how many took the offers.