DETROIT—Stellantis, the global auto giant and maker of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands, is making headlines again—and again for the wrong reasons. While thousands of autoworkers have been laid off or face new layoffs, the company is funneling billions into stock buybacks and dividends for its shareholders.
The move has sparked outrage from the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the broader working class, who are fed up with big business profiteering, especially as the crisis of everyday living grows harsher for working families.
At its annual shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, Stellantis approved a $2.6 billion dividend payout to its shareholders on Wall Street. They are also considering an additional $2.6 billion stock buyback—nearly half last year’s profits.
The announcement comes just weeks after Stellantis blamed auto tariffs for financial struggles. The company used those claims to justify layoffs.
Wall Street wins, workers lose
“Two weeks ago, Stellantis said the sky was falling because of auto tariffs,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “They said they had to lay off workers, claiming they are losing money. But then, all of a sudden, a miracle happened: they found billions of dollars, nearly half of last year’s profits, to pay to Wall Street!”
Fain called the move a perfect example of corporate greed. “This is everything wrong with Corporate America,” he said. Instead of investing in workers and plants, Stellantis is looting the Rust Belt for short-term Wall Street profits.
The UAW says Stellantis could reinvest that $5 billion into U.S. auto jobs. For instance, plants like Toledo Assembly in Ohio, Belvidere in Illinois, and Warren Truck in Michigan are currently underutilized. Thousands of laid-off workers could be called back, they said. Instead, the company is prioritizing shareholders.
Last week, Fain said that if all the Big Three automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—operated their active plants at 100% capacity, this would result in 50,000 additional jobs, as well as “hundreds of thousands” of jobs at part suppliers and other businesses.
Stellantis is also set to pay ousted CEO Carlos Tavares $25 million. Tavares—known by auto workers as “Shitcan Carlos”—oversaw mass layoffs and plant closures during his tenure. Under his leadership, thousands of workers lost their jobs at the Toledo Assembly, Warren Truck, and Sterling Heights alone.
The UAW’s Keep the Promise campaign helped push Tavares out and alleviate some damage. But the dire need for workers’ jobs to return remains. “We still have thousands of sisters and brothers laid off due to his mismanagement,” the union said.
The fight isn’t over. “We must stay vigilant,” the UAW warned. “It takes a fight to keep jobs in this country—and we’re ready for that fight.”
The auto industry is reeling from recent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. While the UAW supports some trade protections, President Fain criticized Trump’s approach.
The tariffs had immediate consequences. Within 24 hours of Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement, Stellantis laid off 900 workers, People’s World reported. Plants in Michigan and Indiana were hit hardest. In Ontario, 6,000 auto workers received furlough notices.
For example, in Kokomo, Ind., where Fain is from and has a population of 60,000, the layoffs of auto workers have led to the closure of numerous “mom-and-pop” businesses. Through years of deindustrialization and the loss of manufacturing jobs, Kokomo now features abandoned warehouses, partially used strip malls, and scattered fields where plants once stood. The scene is all too familiar to workers throughout the Midwest, such as Detroit, Toledo, Gary, and Cleveland.
Andrea Smith expressed her concerns to The Washington Post, saying, “This new layoff right now makes me worried.” Due to the layoffs, she is considering returning to her former job with the city of Kokomo, where she earned a wage of $14.50 an hour. At Stellantis, she had been making over $30 an hour and enjoyed great benefits under the UAW Master Contract.
In response, the UAW has called for immediate talks to renegotiate the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which went into effect in 2020 and replaced NAFTA, the previous “free-trade” agreement that saw upwards of 950,000 jobs leave the U.S. to low-wage countries.
“We need policies that put workers first,” Fain said. He argued that any renegotiated trade deals, including the USMCA, must protect labor rights for all workers in the industry, regardless of country. “We need enforcement mechanisms to ensure fair treatment of workers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.”
For now, the UAW is rallying its members and public support to oppose Stellantis’ blatant disregard for workers, their families, and the communities they helped build. On Wednesday, the union announced a petition demanding that Stellantis reinvest in workers, not Wall Street.
All friends and allies of the labor movement are urged to join the fight.
Stellantis could reopen plants, lower vehicle prices, and regain market share, the union said. “Instead, the company is choosing to spend that money on Wall Street.”
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