Stellantis, the Italian-American automaker, is under fire for its recent controversial decision to lay off over 400 employees across its engineering, software and technology divisions in the United States. The company’s method of termination is highly unusual and has sparked criticism, with many deeming it inappropriate. According to reports, Stellantis instructed employees to attend a mandatory remote work day on March 22. However, during the remote call, workers were informed about their unexpected removal. The carmaker defended its actions, citing harsh organizational reviews as the reason for the terminations and claiming that only 2% of employees in those divisions would be affected. Despite this explanation, the exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed.
However, a source close to the management confirmed that approximately 400 workers were laid off from their positions. An unnamed employee affected by this told FOX News, “It was a mass firing of everybody that was on the call.” According to the individual, the company was offering numerous positions to countries like India, Mexico and Brazil. They expressed concern over the company’s importance in taking advantage of low labour cost countries, by calling it a strategy to increase productivity and profit.
Meanwhile, Stellantis in a statement said, “These actions will better align resources while preserving the critical skills needed to protect our competitive advantage as we remain laser-focused on implementing our EV product offensive and our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. As the auto industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and heightened competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to make the appropriate structural decisions across the enterprise to improve efficiency and optimize our cost structure.”
Reportedly, the organisation also stated that the company announced that it would provide affected workers with a separation package and transition assistance.
Last year, Goldman Sachs faced backlash for its handling of employee layoffs, with approximately 3,200 workers being let go from their positions. Employees were invited to morning meetings, some as early as 7:30 AM, at the New York headquarters, only to discover upon arrival that they were being laid off. Similarly, when Elon Musk assumed control of Twitter, some employees found themselves removed from their jobs when they couldn’t access the company’s email or messaging systems. Others learned about their fate through an email sent after their workday had ended.
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