Automaker Stellantis offering buyouts to pension-eligible U.S. salaried workers

DETROIT – Automaker Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is offering voluntary buyouts to pension-eligible U.S. salaried employees, the company confirmed Monday.

To be eligible, employees must be at least 55 years old and have been with the company for 30 years or be at least 58 years old with 10 years of employment. Unionized-salaried employees are not eligible for the buyouts, which were initially sent out at the end of October.

A Stellantis spokeswoman declined to say how many of the company’s more than 14,000 domestic salaried employees are eligible for the program, or whether the automaker has a target for how many workers it would like to take the packages.

The employees being offered the packages are already eligible to retire. The company cited the buyouts as a way to assist in its pivot to focus more on electric vehicles.

“Stellantis is aggressively moving forward on its journey to become the market leader in low emission vehicles,” the company said in an emailed statement. “To assist in our transition, and to align our business priorities to a new set of critical skills and investment opportunities, Stellantis North America is offering a voluntary retirement program to eligible members of our team.”

The targeted offers, which were first reported by Automotive News, are the most recent as U.S. automakers transition to electric vehicles. Ford Motor has offered buyouts to salaried workers at least twice since 2020. GM also announced buyouts in 2018 as part of a restructuring.

Stellantis has 14 brands, including Jeep, Ram, Opel, Fiat, Peugeot and Maserati. During the event, it highlighted electric plans for several of its brands. It was formed through a $52 billion merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe in January.