White-collar workers at Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, have reason to be nervous if they ever receive a company notice telling them it’s mandatory to work remotely on a certain day.
This is what happened to about 400 colleagues on Thursday. They were informed via a notice that the automaker would be “holding important operational meetings that require specific attention and participation” the next day.
“To guarantee effective participation for everyone – continues the notice – we have decided to establish a mandatory remote working day”. Employees, he indicated, had to “work from home unless otherwise directed by their manager”. Guy X’s car dealership account shared the notice Thursday.
The workers in question were salaried, non-union employees in the technology and engineering industries in the United States
During the remote meeting on Friday, they were informed that they would be fired.
The automaker, which counts Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge among its brands, said in a statement: “As the automotive industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and growing competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to take the lead appropriate structural decisions around the world. company to improve efficiency and optimize our cost structure”.
A mechanical engineer let go Friday spoke about the process anonymously to WJBK Fox, a Detroit television station, saying, “It was a mass layoff of everyone who was on the call.” He suspected the real reason behind the layoffs was a push to move jobs to “low-cost countries,” pointing out that Stellantis is outsourcing many jobs to India, Mexico and Brazil.
Fortune contacted the company over the weekend but received no immediate response outside of normal business hours.
But speaking Thursday at Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the layoffs, the company said it would offer affected workers a comprehensive separation package and transition assistance. It added that the reductions would help preserve the core skills needed to implement its electric vehicle production plans.
The company plans to spend more than $50 billion by the end of the decade to electrify its lineup, despite the recent slowdown in EV sales growth and rising demand for hybrids. It expects to offer eight new electric vehicle models in the United States by the end of the year and more than two dozen by 2030.
Layoff etiquette
How to properly conduct layoffs and inform employees about them is much debated.
Last year, Goldman Sachs eliminated 3,200 jobs in a way that received criticism. Employees were reportedly emailed calendar invitations for fake morning meetings, some as early as 7:30 a.m., at the bank’s New York headquarters. When they showed up, they learned that they would be fired, in full view of their manager.
During Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of Twitter, some employees found their jobs eliminated because they couldn’t access the company’s email or messaging systems. Others learned their fate via an (unsigned) email sent after the workday.
One HR professional criticized Musk’s method, tweeting: “When leaders are this cowardly, it’s because they prioritize their own comfort over that of others or choose not to engage in hard, time-consuming work, or both. It’s weak, it’s pathetic, and it’s cruel.
A user answering to Guy Dealership Guy’s post late Thursday, he predicted precisely what Stellantis’ notice meant, writing: “Layoffs. My company did just that. Much easier (and preferred by most employees).”
The anonymous worker who spoke to WJBK, however, said the layoffs were “absolutely” a gut punch.