Stellantis NV is planning to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in Italy this year to further reduce its workforce in Fiat’s former home country as the transition to electric vehicles takes its toll.
The French-Italian carmaker, formed from the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, and local unions agreed on the reductions that represent about 4.3% of its 47,000 workforce in the country. The decision follows similar cuts last year.
The planned exits will come mostly from workers not directly involved in production, who will receive benefits that include early retirement and as much as two years of salary for older workers, unions said Monday in a statement.
“The cost of electrification is going to have an impact on the footprint of business that we are going to have around the world,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said. When asked about potential further job cuts in a separate interview with Bloomberg Television, he said nothing is off the table.
Carmakers have been grappling with inflation and supply-chain disruption as they retool their factories to transition to battery-powered cars, prompting a cost-cutting drive. Ford Motor Co. earlier this month said it will cut 3,800 positions mostly in Germany and the UK to make savings and as producing EVs requires fewer workers. Stellantis is idling a factory making Jeep models in Illinois from this month, citing the shift to battery power.