In the four years since Stellantis was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA, the automaker has cut about 50,000 employees while soaking up taxpayer subsidies.

Corporate filings cited by The Detroit News show Stellantis’ 248,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2024 represents 17% fewer employees than before the merger, while layoffs and buyouts in North America have cut employment 20% – from about 95,000 in 2020 to 75,500.

Many of the cuts took place in Michigan in recent years, despite significant taxpayer-funded incentives designed to attract investments and jobs.

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At the start of 2024, Stellantis, which has its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, employed about 38,913 in Michigan, or about 7% fewer employees than 2023. That was before Stellantis laid off about 400 salaried employees in March 2024, offered a voluntary separation program in July, and conducted two rounds of layoffs impacting up to 2,450 workers each at its Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, and Warren Truck Assembly Plant, Crain’s Business Detroit reports.

“Auto companies are in a period of massive technological change in the industry due to electrification and autonomous vehicles,” Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University, told the news site last year. “These disruptive changes are occurring at a time when the economic markets are uneven.”

The job losses came as Stellantis has lost ground to competitors, with vehicle shipments down 25% in 2024 and adjusted gross operating revenues for the region down 80% amid its struggles with the government forced transition to EVs.

Those problems persist despite massive infusions of taxpayer cash from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and the federal government.

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In 2019, Fiat Chrysler (pre merger) landed $400 million in incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to invest $4.5 billion in Michigan, including $1.5 billion for the Warren Truck Plant and $1.6 billion for the Mack Assembly Plant.

Yet despite the widespread layoffs, Stellantis will keep the incentives because they were based on an investment thresholds, rather than job numbers, MEDC spokesman Otie McKinley told Crain’s.

Amid last year’s layoffs, Stellantis also secured $584.8 million from the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Energy to support EV operations in Illinois and Indiana, according to Auto Body News.

The situation is infuriating the United Auto Workers, which has blamed Michigan layoffs on CEO Carlos Tavares’ focus on moving Ram pickup production to Mexico.

“Thousands of UAW Stellantis members are laid off due to the gross mismanagement we saw under former CEO Carlos Tavares,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a Friday statement to The Detroit News. “With very active talks ongoing around tariffs, the new Stellantis corporate leadership has a golden opportunity to invest in American manufacturing and get UAW members back to work.”

Tavares left Stellantis on December 1, 2024 amid slumping sales and disagreements with the company’s board, and the company has since reversed some cost cutting moves.

“I don’t see these large workforce reductions continuing going forward,” CFO Doug Ostermann told investors in a recent call. “We will, of course, continue to be frugal and efficient, but I think the size of the reductions will come down.”

In January, Whitmer heaped praise on Stellantis for the company’s announced plans to build the next generation of the Dodge Durango at its Detroit Assembly Complex, alleging her administration and company officials “share a commitment to investing in American workers and bringing manufacturing and supply chains back home.

“I’m proud that Stellantis is doubling down on the Motor City in 2025 with their announcement that the next generation Dodge Durango will be made by union autoworkers at Detroit Assembly,” Whitmer said in a statement cited by Expansion Solutions Magazine. “I look forward to working with the UAW, our auto manufacturers and suppliers, and President Trump to keep creating and supporting good-paying American jobs.”

The announcement came just a few short months after Whitmer confirmed she was in talks with Stellantis to prevent the company from moving its North American headquarters elsewhere.

Stellantis, meanwhile, has worked to assure Michiganders it’s not going anywhere.

“Stellantis has made its home in Michigan for more than 100 years. With manufacturing facilities, parts distribution centers and proving grounds located across the state as well as the Auburn Hills complex, Michigan continues to play a critical role in the company’s global operations,” spokeswoman Jodi Tinson wrote to Crain’s in an email.