Stellantis turns mandatory WFH day into termination day

When employees at Stellantis were told to work from home/remotely on 22 March so that maximum participation could be ensured for important meetings to be held that day, little did they realise how significant the day would be. The said “meetings” were for announcing their termination from service! At least 400 employees from the engineering, technology and software divisions were laid off when they joined the remote call.

The notice that sought mandatory remote work resulted in employees being terminated enmass when they joined the call. As per some media reports, Stellantis plans to outsource work to countries where labour would be less expensive, such as Mexico, Brazil and even India.

Like many other global firms focusing on profitability, the Italian-American automotive manufacturing company, associated with brands such as Jeep and Chrysler, also seems to be looking towards developing countries for better efficiency at lower costs.

Stellantis is offering a significant severance package to the affected employees, along with support to ensure smooth transition.

Earlier this year, on 15 January 2024, Stellantis had announced plans to temporarily lay off approximately 2,250 employees at its Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. Apart from Italy, Stellantis NV announced that 539 temporary workers in its US factories were laid off permanently after a review of operations. The affected workers— primarily lower-paid temporary employees from General Motors and Ford Motor—were notified on 12 January 2024. The move was resorted to because of a drop in demand.