Stellantis to offer buyouts amid electric vehicle transition

Stellantis says it's offering buyouts to groups of white-collar and unionized employees in the U.S., as well as hourly workers in Canada

Stellantis Buyouts (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Another automaker is trying to cut its workforce to trim expenses and stay competitive as the industry makes the long and costly transition to electric vehicles.

Stellantis on Wednesday said it's offering buyouts to groups of white-collar and unionized employees in the U.S., as well as hourly workers in Canada.

The cuts are “in response to today’s increasingly competitive global market conditions and the necessary shift to electrification,” the company said in a prepared statement.

Stellantis said it's looking to reduce its hourly workforce by about 3,500, but wouldn't say how many salaried employees it's targeting.

The company has about 56,000 workers in the U.S., and about 33,000 of them could get the offers. Of those, 31,000 are blue-collar workers and 2,500 salaried employees.

Another 8,000 union workers in Canada also will get offers, the company said.

Stellantis, formed in the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Groupe, says in a statement that it's reviewing its North American operations to trim costs, become more efficient and protect the competitiveness of its products.

The company says it's offering packages to certain salaried workers who have 15 or more years of service. Packages also are being offered to unionized employees in the U.S. and Canada.

Information about the packages will go to employees the week of May 1.

The offers follow Ford and General Motors, which have trimmed their workforces in the past year through buyout offers. About 5,000 white-collar workers took General Motors up on offers to leave the company this year. Ford cut about 3,000 contract and full-time salaried workers last summer, giving them severance packages.