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New Stellantis layoffs mean over 3,000 jobs set to go in Italy

The gates of the Stellantis factory in Mirafiori, Turin, Italy. (Getty Images)   MILAN — Stellantis, the maker of Fiat cars, on Wednesday signed further deals with unions in Italy for voluntary layoffs, meaning the automaker could cut its workforce by a total of over 3,000 roles in the country. New deals were reached on Wednesday for over 1,000 layoffs at facilities in Italy, including Melfi, Pomigliano d'Arco and Termoli, both for line workers and other functions, the FIOM union said in a statement, although it has not itself signed the agreements. The cuts are being driven in part by the transition to cleaner energy in the industry. They add to similar deals announced on Tuesday for Stellantis operations in the city of Turin, with as many as over 1,500 voluntary layoffs, and for the engine making facility in Pratola Serra, with 100 additional jobs involved. A deal has not yet been signed for the Cassino plant, another large Stellantis assembly facility in Italy. The company has proposed 850 voluntary redundancies for that site, FIOM had said on Tuesday, but a final deal with unions is expected to settle on a lower figure. Another agreement is expected to cover the Atessa van making plant in central Italy. A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the new deals signed on Wednesday, under a framework agreed with unions last week. "They are part of the initiatives implemented by Stellantis to address the effects of the ongoing energy and technology transition process ... including on employment," the spokesman said. They are on a strictly voluntary basis and mostly aimed at employees close to retirement age or willing to take new professional opportunities, the spokesman reiterated. Stellantis employs about 43,000 people in Italy, including about 15,000 in the area of Turin, in Italy's northwest, the historic home of Fiat, which merged with Peugeot-maker PSA to create Stellantis. Voluntary redundancy packages have been the main tool used by Stellantis to cut its workforce in Italy, which amounted to around 55,000 people when the group was formed in early 2021. The carmaker, which on Wednesday reiterated Italy had a central role to play in its global operations, is in talks with the Italian government on conditions allowing it to boost its annual output in the country to 1 million vehicles, from about 750,000 last year.  

Dodge, Jeep and Ram could soon be owned by Chinese automakers

For the past several years, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it widely known that the automaker he helms is up for grabs. First, he sent an email to GM CEO Mary Barra, who immediately refused to even discuss a merger. Later, Marchionne set his sights on Volkswagen. That too was swiftly rebuffed. It seemed like no global automaker was remotely interested in a partnership. Now, Automotive News reports that several Chinese automakers have come calling, only FCA isn't ready to answer. At least not yet. The news broke this morning that a major Chinese automaker had made an offer to purchase FCA for slightly above market value. FCA refused, saying the offer wasn't quite generous enough. It's unclear which automaker made the offer, but Automotive News says there's more than one interested party. FCA representatives have recently traveled to China to meet with Great Wall Motors, while Chinese representatives were seen at FCA corporate headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Chinese government has a lot of money invested in local automakers. It's putting pressure on these automakers to expand globally, including to the United States. As it stands, it's a matter of when a Chinese automaker will start selling cars here, not if. Purchasing an established automaker with a wide range of products and a huge dealer network would do wonders in giving the Chinese a foothold here. Sure, Geely owns Volvo, but a luxury automaker doesn't have nearly as much reach as a more mainstream company like FCA. This seems like the best case scenario for both a Chinese automaker looking to move into the U.S. and for FCA, at least from a business standpoint. The latter doesn't seem to have any other interested parties. It will be interesting to see how FCA would sell a deal like this to the public. We're not sure everyone will be happy with Dodge, Jeep and Ram falling under Chinese ownership. FCA didn't turn down the Chinese because they didn't like the idea. It turned down the offer because there wasn't enough money on the table. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Earnings/Financials Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM

China-FCA merger could be a win-win for everyone but politicians

NEW YORK — Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has said the car industry needs to come together, cut costs and stop incinerating capital. So far, his words have mostly fallen on deaf ears among competitors in Europe and North America. But it appears Marchionne has finally found a receptive audience — in China. FCA shares soared Monday after trade publication Automotive News reported the $18 billion Italian-American conglomerate controlled by the Agnelli family rebuffed a takeover from an unidentified carmaker from the Chinese mainland. As ugly as the politics of such a combination may appear at first blush, a transaction could stack up industrially, and perhaps even financially. A Sino-U.S.-European merger would create the first truly global auto group. That could push consolidation to the next level elsewhere. Moreover, China is the world's top market for the SUVs that Jeep effectively invented, so it might benefit FCA financially. A combo would certainly help upgrade the domestic manufacturer; Chinese carmakers have gotten better at making cars, but struggle to build global brands, and they need to develop export markets. Though frivolous overseas shopping excursions by Chinese enterprises are being reined in by Beijing, acquisitions that support the modernization and transformation of strategic industries still receive support, and the government considers the automotive industry to be strategic. A purchase of FCA by Guangzhou Automobile, Great Wall or Dongfeng Motors would probably get the same stamp of approval ChemChina was given for its $43 billion takeover of Syngenta. What's standing in the way? Apart from price (Automotive News said FCA's board deemed the offer insufficient) there's the not-insignificant matter of politics. Even as FCA shares soared, President Donald Trump interrupted his vacation to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to look into whether to investigate China's trade policies on intellectual property. Seeing storied Detroit brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and Dodge handed off to a Chinese company would provoke howls among Trump's economic-nationalist supporters. It might not play well in Italy, either, to see Alfa Romeo and Maserati answering to Wuhan instead of Turin — though Automotive News said they might be spun off separately. Yet, as Morgan Stanley observes, "cars don't ship across oceans easily," and political considerations increasingly demand local manufacture of valuable products.