United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain has intensified his criticism of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, accusing him of price gouging consumers and breaching parts of the union’s labor contract. In a video released Friday afternoon, Fain condemned Tavares for alleged misconduct, claiming that the CEO’s actions have been detrimental to both the company and its workforce.
Fain’s video, which runs for 2:30 minutes, begins with a stark accusation: “Something is rotten at Stellantis.” He highlights a disparity between the company’s declining sales and profits and the substantial increase in Tavares’s compensation. “The problem isn’t the market at GM and Ford; auto sales are up, and the problem isn’t the auto workers. The problem is this man, Carlos Tavares,” Fain asserts.
The criticisms, particularly concerning job cuts and Tavares’s compensation, have been recurring themes in the ongoing dispute between the UAW and Stellantis. However, Fain’s recent remarks further accuse Tavares of price gouging, alleging that Stellantis is exploiting consumers for profit. Fain also claims that Stellantis has failed to honor certain aspects of the labor contract, specifically halting plans to reopen the Belvedere Assembly plant in Illinois.
In response, Stellantis CEO Tavares has been vocal about quality issues at a Detroit truck plant and has announced significant layoffs at U.S. facilities due to falling sales and strategic changes. Tavares, who has been spearheading a cost-cutting initiative since Stellantis was formed through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe in January 2021, has faced criticism for reducing the company’s workforce by 15.5%—approximately 47,500 employees—between December 2019 and the end of 2023.
Despite the backlash, Tavares has defended the cost-cutting measures as necessary for the company’s financial health, including a plan to double Stellantis’s revenue by 2030 as part of his “Dare Forward 2030” strategy.
