AMSTERDAM (WXYZ) — After serving as CEO of Stellantis for nearly four years, Carlos Tavares is resigning from his role with the automotive manufacturing company.
According to a release from the company, Tavares' resignation was accepted by the Company’s Board of Directors and is effective immediately.
Stellantis says the search for Tavares' replacement is "well under way", with a Special Committee of the Board managing the search, which the company says will conclude within the first half of 2025.
Stellantis said in their third quarter report that net revenue was down 27 percent from Q3 of 2023, citing ";ower shipments and unfavorable mix as well as pricing and foreign exchange impacts" for the decline in profits.
Until a new CEO is named, a new Interim Executive Committee, chaired by John Elkann, will be established.
“Stellantis’ success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment between the reference shareholders, the Board and the CEO," said Stellantis’ Senior Independent Director, Henri de Castries, in the statement. "However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the Board and the CEO coming to today’s decision.”
An avid car racer who owns more than 500 vehicles, Tavares was Chairman of the PSA Managing Board for nearly seven years, served as a CEO of Renault (2011-2013). He also served as Executive Vice President, Chairman of the Management Committee Americas and President of Nissan North America at Nissan from 2009-2011.
UPDATE from Monday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 a.m.: Early morning reaction at Stellantis' Warren Truck Assembly Plant was largely swift and decisive. Frustrated workers reporting for their shifts are happy he's gone.
“If you’re not good for the company or in a good spot to keep us alive and pushing, I think you need to be moved for somebody that’s qualified to do that and keep us on the right track so we can all prosper here," Tyrone told us.
We asked another worker what morale is like at the plant right now.
“Pretty low around here," said Maurice Waltenberg. "When you’ve lost thousands of jobs out of a plant that, you know, always been strong…my dad worked at this plant 40-some-odd years ago. And, it just…it’s like nothing like it was.”
UAW President Shawn Fain released the statement below on the resignation:
The UAW welcomes the resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, a major step in the right direction for a company that has been mismanaged and a workforce that has been mistreated for too long. For weeks, thousands of UAW members at Stellantis have been calling for the company to fire Carlos Tavares due to his reckless mismanagement of the company. We are pleased to see the company responding to pressure and correcting course.
Tavares is leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots. We look forward to new Stellantis leadership that respects hardworking UAW members and is ready to keep its promise to America by investing in the people who build its products.
We will keep using all means available to hold Stellantis accountable and enforce the contract we won in 2023, including advancing strikeable grievances until Stellantis keeps its investments and commitments to workers in Belvidere, Michigan, and beyond. We are looking forward to sitting down with the new CEO, backed up by thousands of UAW Stellantis members ready to take action, and discussing their plan to keep making world-class vehicles here in the United States.
