Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport, has criticised the Agnelli household over automotive maker Stellantis’ issues, as the corporate continues to battle with weaker gross sales and falling demand.
Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has mentioned the Agnelli household must be held as answerable for Stellantis’ points because the automotive firm’s now ex-chief government officer (CEO), Carlos Tavares. The latter abruptly resigned earlier this week, following Stellantis persevering with to see disappointing gross sales and the announcement it was to shut its Vauxhall plant within the UK.
The Agnelli household is Stellantis’ greatest shareholder and at present personal about 14.2% of the auto producer. The stake is owned via the Agnelli household firm Exor, with the household additionally being the founding father of Fiat.
Salvini was quoted within the Telegraph as saying that the automotive firm’s woes had been precipitated extra due to its possession, slightly than due to the choices Tavares took throughout his time as CEO.
This was primarily as a result of Stellantis had depended considerably on Italian state handouts for a number of years, whereas on the identical time planning to maneuver manufacturing services overseas, the place prices had been decrease.
Stellantis has already halted manufacturing at quite a lot of Italian crops a number of occasions this yr, though it has promised to not make mass redundancies or shut Italian factories. In late November, Reuters reported that the corporate can be pausing manufacturing at its Termoli plant as effectively, between 16 December and 22 December, throughout which employees are anticipated to be furloughed.
The automotive firm was launched in 2021, following the merger of France’s PSA and Italy’s Fiat Chrysler. The corporate is now the proprietor of manufacturers reminiscent of Dodge, Vauxhall, Citroën, Ram, Peugeot and Maserati, amongst a number of others.
Euronews has contacted Stellantis for remark.
Is Stellantis now extra French than Italian?
Salvini additionally identified that Stellantis was hardly Italian anymore, regardless of having acquired billions of Italian funds over the past a number of years.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has additionally remarked that Stellantis is extra French than Italian. She has additionally claimed that the actions of Agnelli household inheritor John Elkann have been straying from the Italian nationwide curiosity. Meloni has additionally mentioned she might be specializing in defending Stellantis staff from redundancies.
Salvini, too, has criticised Elkann for refusing to deal with the Italian parliament, particularly given the nation’s excessive funding within the firm. The deputy PM additionally hit out at Carlos Tavares, the ex-CEO of Stellantis, for what he described as wrongly handle the corporate.
Why has Carlos Tavares resigned from Stellantis?
One of many major causes for Carlos Tavares’ shock resignation on Sunday night was due to the corporate persevering with to see weaker gross sales, because it struggles with falling demand, particularly in North America.
Stellantis additionally revealed {that a} distinction of views with the board had contributed to Tavares resignation. A number of US plant layoffs, in Detroit, Toledo and Sterling Heights, amongst others, additionally added to this, as did rising stock ranges.
The corporate has not but revealed who might be taking up from Tavares, with John Elkann being named as interim CEO.
Latest hypothesis instructed Stellantis was eyeing up Apple’s outgoing chief monetary officer (CFO), Luca Maestri, as its new CEO however Stellantis has denied the claims.