Chrysler-parent Stellantis offering buyouts to 33,500 U.S. employees

DETROIT – Stellantis is offering voluntary buyouts to more than 33,500 U.S. salaried and hourly employees, as the global automaker attempts to cut costs and headcount.

The buyouts will be offered to 31,000 hourly employees with at least one year of employment and 2,500 salaried non-union U.S. employees who have 15 or more years with the company, the automaker said Wednesday.

“In response to today’s increasingly competitive global market conditions and the necessary shift to electrification, Stellantis is thoroughly reviewing its North American operations to improve efficiency, reduce costs and protect the competitiveness of our products to allow for further strategic investments to support our transformation,” the company said in a statement.

The buyouts are the latest cuts for the U.S. auto industry. General Motors earlier this year offered buyouts to a majority of its salaried employees following performance-related layoffs.

Stellantis earlier this year idled a Jeep plant in Illinois, placing about 1,200 workers on indefinite layoffs.

This is a developing story. Please check back for additional updates.