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Stellantis (STLA+2.55%) on Thursday announced that CEO Carlos Tavares will not stay on with the automaker after his contract expires, amid a host of other management changes, sending the stock down.
Tavares, who will retire after his contract ends in 2026, had been expected to bring up a management shakeup at his meeting with Stellantis’ board of directors this week. It appears that the board agreed with his proposal, considering that several executives will now either leave Stellantis or have an unclear position in the company’s future.
Stellantis stock fell about 4% in pre-market trading on Friday morning. The shares are down about 42% so far this year.
Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight will leave Stellantis, succeeded by Doug Ostermann, who was previously the company’s chief operating officer in China. His own shoes will be filled by Gregoire Olivier, who will also stay on as the “liason officer” to Leapmotor, Stellantis’ partner on a joint venture. Uwe Hochgeschurtz, an executive overseeing European operations, will be replaced by Jean-Philippe Imparato, the CEO of Stellantis’ commercial vehicle unit.
Antonio Filosa, who previously helped lead South American operations, is taking over as Jeep’s CEO, with former brand executive Carlos Zarlenga’s position in the company unclear. Likewise, Maserati and Alfa Romeo will now be led by Santo Ficili; now-former brand CEO Davide Grasso’s new position is unclear.
“During this Darwinian period for the automotive industry, our duty and ethical responsibility is to adapt and prepare ourselves for the future, better and faster than our competitors to deliver clean, safe and affordable mobility,” Tavares said in a statement. The new members will “make their valuable contributions to our overall team’s determination to tackle the challenges ahead,” he added.
Stellantis also confirmed that it has started the formal process to find a successor for Tavares, which is being led by board chairman John Elkann, a major shareholder. That work is expected to be finished by final quarter of 2025. A major priority for Elkann is improving Stellantis’ position in the North American market, as sales have slowed and executives have departed, Bloomberg reported last month.
In September, the automaker slashed its full-year guidance for adjusted operating income and expected industrial free cash flow, and it pushed up its timeline to lower U.S. dealer inventory to about 330,000 units. Sales in the U.S. dropped 20% last quarter to 205,294 deliveries, which followed a similar 21% year-over-year decline in the second quarter. The last time Stellantis had a quarterly sales increase was in the second quarter of 2023.
In recent weeks, Tavares’ leadership has been criticized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union — which represents 43,000 Stellantis workers — and the U.S. Stellantis National Dealer Council, which warned “disaster has arrived” at the company. An heir to the Chrysler family declared his intent to buy the brand back from Stellantis and lambasted Tavares and other executives.
The UAW filed a series of federal labor charges against the automaker last month and alleged Stellantis has failed to keep the promises it made in its 2023 contract. At least two UAW locals have authorized a strike.
Stellantis has fired back against the UAW with at least nine lawsuits against the organization and 23 local chapters, and it has denied the union’s claims. On Tuesday, Stellantis said it was contesting a Denver-based local’s strike authorization vote and filed another two lawsuits against the UAW.