Stellantis (STLA.US) restructuring triggers union concerns: French domestic business at risk of being damaged during the transition period.

Stellantis Group (STLA.US) is moving forward with a restructuring plan, which has sparked concerns among French employees: as new CEO Antonio Filosa drives this struggling car company back on track, the domestic business in France may suffer. Since taking office in June of this year, Filosa has been conducting a deep evaluation of this large company formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group. Stellantis owns 14 automotive brands, including Peugeot and Jeep. This executive, who hails from Italy and has worked at Fiat Chrysler for many years, has promoted several colleagues who previously worked with him in South America to take on management positions in Europe. The French business executives and union (CFE-CGC) have expressed concerns that these personnel changes are marginalizing France's professional expertise and interests. The union (which mainly represents white-collar workers) stated in a declaration that these adjustments "could challenge the balance that was formed after the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler, especially in the areas of automotive production and future model research and development". The statement also mentioned that France's professional expertise is being pushed to the sidelines, and there are concerns that "the status of some French and even European factories may become unstable". Filosa plans to announce specific restructuring plans early next year, as several Stellantis factories in Europe are facing severe overcapacity. Since the merger of the two groups in 2021, Stellantis has been profitable for several years, but the strategy of the former CEO Carlos Tavares of "cost control + price increase" has begun to show negative effects: there is an accumulation of inventory for Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups at dealerships. Several key members of Tavares's team, who had previously worked at PSA Group, have left Stellantis since Tavares resigned in December last year. In the European market, Stellantis has temporarily shut down several factories due to weak demand for some models. At the beginning of this month, it was reported that the new CEO plans to invest around $10 billion in the United States and refocus business operations on this crucially profitable market. The decision by Stellantis to increase its investment in the US and simultaneously reduce some European investments has raised concerns from local unions in France and Italy - Stellantis produces Fiat and Alfa Romeo models in Italy. In the first 9 months of this year, automobile production in Italy plummeted by 36%, and a union representative in Italy explicitly stated that the country's factories are at risk of being forced to shut down. However, Stellantis's efforts to improve its US business are starting to bear fruit. The group announced on Friday that car deliveries in the third quarter are expected to increase by 13%, mainly due to a 35% year-on-year increase in shipments in the North American region. The reintroduction of popular models like the Ram 1500 pickup with a V8 engine has provided important support for the sales growth. The governments of the US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are in close consultations about future production decisions and Stellantis. Filosa is scheduled to meet with Italian unions on October 20 to discuss the group's business plan in the country. Meanwhile, France remains in the midst of a political crisis. In response to speculations about internal power struggles within the company, Filosa has made a statement. During a conference last month at Kepler Cheuvreux, he stated that the use of the terms "former PSA group" and "former Fiat Chrysler group" is now prohibited, emphasizing that "we are now just Stellantis". It is worth noting that Filosa's first business trip as CEO was to the factory in Sochaux, France - the factory responsible for producing the Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUV models.