DETROIT – A Stellantis employee explained why he’s turning down the buyout offer.
Stellantis is moving forward with plans to trim its workforce through voluntary buyouts.
The latest cost-cutting measure affects workers at facilities in Detroit, Ohio, and Illinois.
An employee at the Mopar warehouse in Center Line told Local 4 he’s turning down the offer.
“I looked at it, and it’s not enough money, especially if you left here and went to go find another job; it would be awful hard to find a job with the benefits and pay and the union representation of what they have here,” Andy Coutts said.
The move comes on the heels of what Stellantis describes as a challenging 2024.
“Stellantis continues to review its operations to improve efficiency and protect its competitiveness in a very dynamic market,” a representative for Stellantis said in a statement.
The UAW also responded to the move.
“We negotiated a package with the company’s new leadership team that gives workers as many options as possible,” UAW Stellantis Dept. Director Kevin Gotinsky said in a statement. ‘For those ready to retire, there’s a clear path. For others, voluntary termination is now on the table."
Auto analyst Marick Masters offered his thoughts on what the buyout offer could mean for the future of the company.
“The message is you read between the lines if not enough people take this offer, and the company hasn’t been specific about how many people they expect to take it, but if not enough do, then I would suspect that layoffs would be in the future plans,” Masters said.
As for Coutts, his plan is to get back to work.
“I can’t control what goes on with the economy; all I can do is put my best foot forward,” Coutts said. “Work every day, show up on time, do my job, do what the boss tells me to do, and that’s it.”
Employees have until May 8 to decide whether to accept the offer.
“Stellantis continues to review its operations to improve efficiency and protect its competitiveness in a very dynamic market.
To help in that effort, the Company announced that it is offering voluntary termination of employment and retirement incentive packages to represented production employees at its manufacturing and Mopar facilities in Detroit and Toledo as well as production, skilled, and salaried bargaining unit employees at its facilities in Illinois. Eligible represented employees have until May 8 to decide."
Stellantis
“The truth is, we are still dealing with the mess left behind at Stellantis by Carlos Tavares.
His gross mismanagement created a crisis, and we’re still trying to recover. Thousands of our members were laid off, and it’s been a long road just getting to this point.
We negotiated a package with the company’s new leadership team that gives workers as many options as possible.
For those ready to retire, there’s a clear path. For others, voluntary termination is now on the table."
UAW Stellantis Dept. Director Kevin Gotinsky