It’s no secret that Stellantis (STLA) , the dad or mum model of American automotive manufacturers Chrysler and Dodge, is in bother.
Because the multinational automaker introduced disappointing first-half earnings in late July 2024, the model has taken many drastic measures to save cash.
In an electronic mail shared with Stellantis staff only a week after the earnings report, the automaker supplied white-collar staff voluntary buyouts earlier than suggesting that layoffs would happen if not sufficient staff voluntarily took the gives.
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On August 8, the automaker introduced that it could lay off as many as 2,450 meeting line employees from the Detroit-area Warren Truck meeting plant following the top of manufacturing of a pickup truck with low gross sales.
Moreover, United Auto Employees president Shawn Fain used his speech on the Democratic Nationwide Conference to blast Stellantis for not conserving its promise relating to the Belvedere Meeting Plant in its landmark contract.
“Let me be clear: Stellantis should preserve the guarantees they made to America in our union contract,” Fain mentioned. “And the UAW will take no matter motion essential at Stellantis or another company to face up and maintain company America accountable.”
From an outsider’s perspective, issues don’t look nice for the corporate that controls Chrysler, Dodge, and Ram. Nonetheless, one sudden determine is leaping from the shadows to voice his opinion on what the automaker ought to do with its beloved manufacturers.
The inheritor comes again
On August 22, Walter B. Rhodes, the great-grandson of Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler, wrote an open letter in search of to assemble traders and employees to collectively save Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram from what he sees as Stellantis’s mismanagement.
In a quick video uploaded to YouTube and a letter printed on the Chrysler/Dodge fanatic weblog Mopar Insiders, Rhodes highlighted Chrysler’s significance inside American automotive historical past, a stark distinction from what the model is beneath Stellantis’s management.
“The Chrysler model, as soon as an emblem of innovation and American ingenuity, is now prone to fading into obscurity because of what I consider are poor choices and mismanagement by its present house owners, Stellantis,” Rhodes wrote.
Because the chief of a motion that guarantees “much-needed” change, Rhodes accused Stellantis of being “out of contact” with American automotive consumers.
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With 15 manufacturers beneath its belt, the Chrysler inheritor mentioned that Stellantis management “can not give Chrysler the required consideration.” He identified that even with CEO Christine Feuell on the model’s helm, Chrysler merchandise get dragged to the underside of the precedence record in favor of “slow-selling manufacturers like Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati.”
Rhodes warned that with these misaligned plans, low-cost, inexpensive automobiles from Chinese language automakers like BYD may construct automobiles that may entice consumers away from manufacturers like Chrysler and Dodge, which may devastate the U.S. auto market and auto manufacturing.
“Chrysler has deep roots within the American market, serving as a dependable and accessible possibility for the center class,” Rhodes mentioned. “Does Stellantis perceive this? Chrysler wants new merchandise now, not tomorrow, not subsequent yr—now.”
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Whereas the present state of affairs exhibits the failings inside Chrysler and its related manufacturers, the inheritor is assured that “traders will see the potential in resurrecting” a “historic model” like Chrysler into one thing new.
The aim of his present marketing campaign is to persuade the highest brass at Stellantis to unload its American manufacturers; Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram into his palms, the place a brand new, “American-Owned Chrysler” owned partly by its workforce would “not solely [focus] on income but in addition on the individuals who construct these automobiles.”
In a separate 17-page doc addressed to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Chrysler model CEO Christine Feuell, Rhodes highlighted crucial improvements in Chrysler’s historical past, and reached out an invite to a “confidential dialogue” to debate the topic in a extra intimate setting.
“The time for motion is now, and I’m able to step up and save the model that my great-grandfather constructed.”
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