Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carlos Tavares of Stellantis, a major multinational automotive manufacturing company, abruptly tendered his resignation Sunday.
The company accepted Tavares’s resignation effective immediately and has started the process of finding a new CEO, according to a press release. The company estimated that the process will be concluded by mid-2025 and said they have empowered “a new Interim Executive Committee” led by John Elkann to fill the void.
“Our thanks go to Carlos for his years of dedicated service and the role he has played in the creation of Stellantis, in addition to the previous turnarounds of PSA and Opel, setting us on the path to becoming a global leader in our industry. I look forward to working with our new Interim Executive Committee, supported by all our Stellantis colleagues, as we complete the process of appointing our new CEO,” Chairman Elkann said in the press release.
Tavares had led the company since its creation in a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Peugeot in 2021, PBS reported. (RELATED: Stellantis Recalls Over 150,000 Plug-In Hybrids Following Wave Of Vehicle Fires)
Henri de Castries, Stellantis’ Senior Independent Director, implied that a divergence of views had emerged in recent weeks between the CEO, the shareholders and the Board, triggering Tavares’ departure, according to the press release.
Tavares clashed with Stellantis board over revival plan, sources say https://t.co/spmHXSvDsV pic.twitter.com/CSeDS37iQ2
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 2, 2024
The company announced the composition of the new interim committee Monday in a press release.
Tavares’s departure comes two months after the automobile company faced a warning about falling profits, Reuters reported. Stellantis experienced around a 40 percent loss in the value of its shares in 2024 alone. This marked the worst performance among European-based car manufacturers, the outlet noted.
Jeff Laethem, the proprietor of a Stellantis dealership in Detroit, expressed relief at the CEO’s resignation. “It couldn’t get worse,” he said. Laethem told the outlet that his GM operation did not experience the same issues.
“[N]ew ideas and fresh forces are needed to plan the company’s future,” Fabio Caldato, a portfolio manager working for AcomeA SGR, a firm with shares in Stellantis, said.
The automobile company is not out of the clear yet. In the U.S., the United Auto Workers (UAW) union threatened a national walkout from the company due to its failure to abide by commitments made in a 2023 contract.
“Tavares is leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots,” Shawn Fain, president of UAW, said, according to Reuters. The company said it has lived up to its commitments to the union.