Stellantis offers "buyout-style" severance plan to approximately half of its salaried employees in the United States.

Zhitong App has learned that electric vehicle manufacturer Stellantis (STLA.US) announced on Monday that it will offer a voluntary buyout program to 6,400 salaried employees in the United States. This "buyout-style" layoff is aimed at reducing costs during the transition to electric vehicles and the company has also agreed to sign a new contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The employees who will be bought out account for about half of the company's salaried employees in the United States who are not part of the union. Currently, the company has 12,700 salaried employees. Additionally, 2,500 salaried workers at Stellantis in the United States who have joined the union did not receive the buyout offer.

Salaried employees must have at least 5 years of work experience to be eligible for the voluntary departure program. Employees who agree to accept the incentive will leave the company by the end of December. Stellantis stated that the company is taking "necessary structural actions to protect our business and company" and mentioned the preparations for the transition to electric vehicles.

In April of this year, Stellantis announced that it would offer voluntary departure programs to 33,500 employees in the United States. This proposal covered 31,000 hourly workers and approximately 2,500 salaried employees. It also offered voluntary buyout plans to some employees in Canada. In April, Stellantis Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart told employees that the assessment of the company's operations "clearly indicated that we need to improve efficiency." In October 2022, Stellantis also proposed voluntary buyouts to salaried employees in the United States who are 55 years old or older and have worked for the automaker for at least 10 years.

According to the UAW contract, the company has agreed to provide a voluntary buyout payment of $50,000 to experienced production and skilled trade members. It will be offered in 2024 and 2026. On October 31, Stellantis stated that it will seek to offset the significant financial impact caused by the North American strike, which resulted in a significant increase in wages, and is considering potential cost reductions.

Stellantis Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight stated that the duration of the six-week strike was unexpected and will result in a loss of profitability of less than 750 million euros (approximately $800 million) for the entire year of 2023, with a revenue loss of approximately 3 billion euros. After reaching a new agreement with the North American union, Stellantis did not provide an estimate of the additional labor costs it will have to bear in the future.