Anika Begay
UAW President Shawn Fain presides over the Special Collective Bargaining Convention for the 2023 Election in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 27, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has stepped up his criticism Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in a video published Friday afternoon accuses the general manager of charging exorbitant prices to consumers and of not respecting some parts of the labor contract signed by the union with the automaker.
The comments are the latest in a series of back-and-forths between the CEO and the union leader, following contentious collective bargaining negotiations last year between the UAW and Detroit automakers, including Stellantis.
“Something is wrong at Stellantis,” Fain said at the start of the 2:30-minute video released Friday. “Sales are down, profits are down, and CEO salaries are very, very high. The problem is not the market at GM and Ford, car sales are up, and the problem is not the auto workers. The problem is this man, Carlos Tavares.”
Spokespeople for the union and the automaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the allegations or the video.
Much of the criticism, including about Tarvares’s pay cuts and salary, is not new. But Fain’s comments on Friday took the claims a step further, accusing Tavares of price gouging for consumers in the name of profits. He also claims Stellantis is failing to honor parts of the company’s labor agreement, specifically citing Stellantis’s blocking of plans to reopen an assembly plant in Illinois.
“In fact, for years, Stellantis has sold fewer cars, but made more profit. What does that tell you? They’re overpricing. Now they’ve overpriced and are causing their own sales to collapse,” Fain said. “In fact, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is trying to backtrack on commitments the company made in our last contract, including putting a brake on the reopening of Belvedere Assembly.”
Tavares recently criticized the UAW-Stellantis workforce, noting quality problems at a metro Detroit truck plant that produces the Ram 1500 pickup. The company has also announced thousands of layoffs at U.S. plants due to declining sales and product changes.
“The direct run rate on some of our plans out of SHAP, Sterling Heights, is not good,” Tavares told reporters July 25 while discussing ongoing issues with the company. “That’s something we need to work out with our facilities management team and also our people.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to the media on June 13, 2024 following the company’s investor day at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Written by Michael Wayland
Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission since the company was created through a merger between Fiat Chrysler and French conglomerate PSA Groupe in January 2021. It’s part of his “Dare Forward 2030” plan to boost profits and double revenues to 300 billion euros ($325 billion) by 2030.
Cost-cutting measures included reorganizing the supply chain and business operations, as well as reducing both salaried and hourly staff.
Stellantis reduced its workforce by 15.5%, or about 47,500 employees, between December 2019 and the end of 2023, including a 14.5% reduction in North America, according to public filings. That doesn’t include additional headcount reductions and layoffs this year.
Several executives had previously described the cuts to Vscek as exhausting to the point of being excessive. Last month, Tavares pushed back against the idea that the company’s cost-cutting efforts had led to its current problems.
