(Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV is hauling employees back to the office, walking back a work-from-home policy after a profit warning prompted a shakeup of the carmaker’s top management.
The maker of Jeeps and Fiats now wants staff in the office three days a week on average — a major change from its previous 70% remote-work policy. Stellantis will be revamping work spaces to welcome back employees, human resources chief Xavier Chereau said in an interview at the Paris car show.
“We need to be pragmatic and we are recalibrating,” Chereau said. “If there’s a difficult project that needs attention, then it’s all week in the office.”
Stellantis Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares had championed remote work in the wake of Covid lockdowns and in the process drastically reduced office space and sold real estate assets to cut costs. Labor unions have criticized the intensity of the push, saying workers are often encouraged to stay away as much as possible.
Investors and analysts are scrutinizing the CEO’s strategy after poor sales, quality issues and delays in the introduction of key new models culminated in a major profit warning last month. Tavares has struck a defiant tone since, pledging fixes in the key US market and jettisoning executives including his finance chief.
“Given what the situation is today, I feel the need to be with my teams more often, to reassure, to communicate, to help make sense of things,” Chereau said.
Tesla Inc. was among the earliest automakers to end remote work, with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk warning staff in late May 2022 to return to the office or work elsewhere. General Motors Co. asked employees back three days a week in September of that year, but didn’t implement the policy until 2023 after worker backlash.
Renault SA employees work from home two or three days a week on average, and remote work is one of the topics currently discussed with labor unions, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.
Earlier this year, Stellantis already asked auto engineers back to the office more frequently. The company is now widening the scope to include all research and development teams and several other roles, Chereau said.
The executive cited a site in the Paris suburb of Poissy as an example of the new focus. It has been revamped to have room for around 9,000 employees via open spaces and a smaller share of private rooms instead of closed-door offices. The push will be extended to Italy, Germany and the US.
Unions have complained about repeated efforts to eliminate jobs in high-cost countries including France, a move they say has sapped morale and led to loss of key talent. Last month, Stellantis invited workers in Poissy to meet recruiters for companies including French utility Engie SA and aircraft-equipment manufacturer Safran SA.
Still, Chereau said the automaker’s main goal is not getting workers out the door, but to retrain them for the transition to electric cars. The company will be spending €144 million ($157 million) this year to reskill employees.
“Internal mobility is what I have most at heart,” he said.
(Updates with additional information on remote work starting in 7th paragraph.)
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