UAW President Shawn Fain chairs the 2023 Special Elections Collective Bargaining Convention in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 27, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain ratcheted up criticism of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in a video Friday afternoon, accusing the chief executive of price gouging consumers and failing to uphold parts of the union’s labor contract with the automaker.
The comments are the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth between the CEO and union leader following contentious collective bargaining talks last year between the UAW and Detroit automakers, including Stellantis.
“Something is rotten at Stellantis,” Fain said to begin the 2:30-minute video posted Friday. “Sales are down, profits are down, and CEO pay is way, way up. The problem isn’t the market at GM and Ford, auto sales are up, and the problem isn’t the auto workers. The problem is this man, Carlos Tavares.”
Spokespeople for the union and automaker did not immediately respond for comment regarding the accusations or video.
Several of the criticisms, including those around job cuts and Tarvares’ pay, aren’t new. But Fain’s comments Friday took the claims a step further, accusing Tavares of price gouging consumers in the name of profits. He also alleges that Stellantis is not honoring parts of the company’s worker contract, citing specifically that Stellantis is halting plans to reopen an assembly plat in Illinois.
“Fact, for years, Stellantis has sold fewer cars, but made more in profits. What does that tell you? They’re price gouging. Now they’ve gone too far, and they’re tanking their own sales,” Fain said. “Fact, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is trying to go back on commitments the company made in our last contract, including putting the brakes on reopening the Belvedere Assembly.”
Tavares recently criticized the UAW-Stellantis workforce, noting quality problems at a truck plant in metro Detroit producing the Ram 1500 pickup truck. The company also has announced thousands of layoffs at U.S. plants amid declining sales and product changes.
“The direct run rate of some of our plans starting with SHAP, Sterling Heights, is not good,” Tavares told reporters July 25 while discussing ongoing issues with the company. “That is something that we need to fix with our plant management team as well with our people.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to media on June 13, 2024 following the company’s investor day at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Tavares has been on a cost-cutting mission since the company was formed through a merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Groupe in January 2021. It’s part of his “Dare Forward 2030” plan to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros ($325 billion) by 2030.
The cost-saving measures have included reshaping the company’s supply chain and operations as well as headcount reductions for both salaried and hourly workers.
Stellantis has reduced headcount by 15.5%, or roughly 47,500 employees, between December 2019 and the end of 2023, including a 14.5% reduction in North America, according to public filings. That doesn’t include further headcount reductions and layoffs this year.
Several executives previously described the cuts to CNBC as grueling to the point of excessiveness. Tavares last month pushed back on the idea that the company’s cost-cutting efforts have led to its current problems.