On Friday, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain sharply criticized Stellantis(STLA.US) CEO Carlos Tavares, accusing him of price gouging and trying to break the company's promises made in its last contract.
Fain said: "Stellantis is rotten. Sales are down, profits are down, and CEO pay is way out of line. It's not the market... It's not the UAW. It's Carlos Tavares."
Fain said Tavares earned $39.5m last year after giving himself a 56% pay raise. "Sales of Stellantis cars have been down for years, but profits have gone up. What does that tell you? They're price gouging," he said.
"Now they're going too far. They're hurting their own sales," Fain said. "Tavares is trying to break the company's promises in our last contract, including stopping the reopening of the Belvidere plant."
Fain said: "Stellantis is playing a bottomless game of cutting jobs and raising prices so that overseas executives like Tavares can get higher pay. It's time to end the greed at Stellantis. It's time to change, and that starts at the top."
Tavares recently said Stellantis' US business was facing problems due to weak sales and excess inventory. Tavares has been cutting jobs at US plants to control costs.
It is worth noting that Stellantis was the only major US automaker whose sales declined last year.
Additionally, Stellantis is facing a shareholder lawsuit in the US, alleging the company hid rising inventory and other internal weaknesses, leading to a disappointing earnings announcement and a share price drop, which the shareholders say is a fraud. Stellantis has responded that the lawsuit is without merit and that it will vigorously defend itself.