In just four years since its inception, Stellantis has undertaken a drastic reorganization. The automotive giant, born from the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA, has reduced its workforce by 50,000 units: nearly one in five employees no longer works for the company. This internal revolution responds to two fundamental challenges: optimizing post-merger costs and financing the complex transition to electric mobility. With 248,000 employees remaining at the end of 2024, the company has clearly focused on rationalization as a survival strategy.
Stellantis has laid off 50,000 employees in just 4 years
The North American market has suffered the heaviest repercussions. A drastic 20% cut has reduced the workforce from 95,000 to 75,500 employees. The Auburn Hills headquarters has lost hundreds of employees, while factories have faced repeated cycles of layoffs, triggering a harsh reaction from the UAW union.
The numbers tell of a deep crisis: an 80% collapse in operating income and a 25% decrease in vehicle deliveries. A perfect storm that has left about 6,000 jobs on the ground in the last year alone, victims of declining sales and dealerships submerged by unsold vehicles.
While the company was downsizing in the West, two regions emerged as promising exceptions: Middle East-Africa and South America. These areas not only saw an increase in the number of employees but were promoted to the “third engine” of the global strategy, alongside the traditional European and North American markets. A strategic move accompanied this vision: the transfer of part of the engineering activities to these regions, combining expansion and cost containment in a single solution.
The departure of CEO Carlos Tavares in December 2024 seems to have marked a turning point. The aggressive tone on cuts has given way to signals of openness: CFO Doug Ostermann has ruled out drastic reductions for 2025, while previously frozen projects have come back to life.
A symbol of this change is the Jeep Gladiator factory in Toledo, where the planned cut of a shift, with 1,100 layoffs, has been suspended. At the same time, John Elkann, temporarily leading the company, has charted a new course: “We must return to profitable growth and generate free cash flows.”
It is no coincidence that the signals of trend reversal coincide with the inauguration of President Trump and his request for greater productive investments in the United States. Stellantis‘ response was swift: reopening of the Belvidere plant in Illinois, with 1,500 new unionized positions, and renewed investments in Detroit and Toledo.
The announcement of 1,000 new hires in the United States, mainly in the strategic sectors of engineering and quality control, seems to confirm this new direction. After years of cuts, Stellantis appears ready to rebuild, at least partially, what was dismantled in the recent past under Tavares‘ leadership.