A Stellantis sign is seen outside FCA's headquarters and technology center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on January 19, 2021.
Jeff Kowalski | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT — Stellantis The automaker is laying off nearly 400 salaried employees in the United States in its engineering, technology and software units to cut costs as the automaker faces what it calls difficult market conditions.
The layoffs will affect about 2% of employees in those units “following rigorous organizational reviews,” Stellantis said Friday. Stellantis employed 11,800 U.S. salaried employees as of the end of last year.
The cuts go into effect on March 31.
“As the automotive industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and increasing competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to make appropriate structural decisions across the organization to improve efficiency and optimize our cost structure,” the company said in an email statement.
A spokeswoman for the automaker declined to discuss the exact number of employees who were laid off. A source familiar with these procedures confirmed the presence of about 400 workers, a number published by the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
The layoffs occurred during a “mandatory remote work day” for non-union U.S. employees at Stellantis’ engineering and technology organization, according to an internal announcement confirmed by two sources not authorized to speak about the actions.
The move is the latest by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to cut costs through layoffs, acquisitions and other methods since the company was founded by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Groupe.
The cuts are part of a push to achieve Stellantis' “Dare Forward 2030” strategic plan, which aims to increase profits and double the automaker's revenue to 300 billion euros, or $335 billion, by then, among other goals.
“While we recognize this is difficult news, these actions will better align resources while maintaining the core skills needed to protect our competitive advantage as we continue to focus on executing our EV product offensive and our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan,” the company said.
