Carlos Tavares fired with “immediate effect” from his position as CEO of Stellantis
Carlos Tavares is being thanked for his position as CEO of the Stellantis group. © Stellantis
Arriving at the head of PSA in 2013, after “differences of views with management”, Carlos Tavares was fired from Stellantis, a merger of PSA and FCA, of which he was one of the main orchestrators.
The news arrived last night, before spreading like wildfire, following the holding of an extraordinary board of directors.
A forced resignation
The press release speaks of “resignation with immediate effect”, following differences of views with the board of directors and the main shareholder, the Agnelli family (14.2% of the group).
In fact, it seems that Carlos Tavares was only informed at the last minute of the holding of this extraordinary board of directors, supporting the theory of a dismissal rather than a voluntary resignation.
Carlos Tavares has led Stellantis since the merger of PSA Peugeot Citroën (which he led since 2013) and FCA Fiat Chrysler in 2021. He has been criticized several times for his overly radical savings and controversial methods.
His dismissal was demanded, among others, by suppliers put under pressure, disgruntled dealers, employees criticizing his overly brutal management and politicians, particularly in Italy, but also in France and the United States. Tavares' problems began this year, when the company was no longer able to hide sales declines and problems with some brands.
The poorly managed problems with the PureTech engine did not tip the balance in favor of Carlos Tavares. © Peugeot
Initially, the CEO was due to leave office in 2026 and announced that he would name candidates to replace him. Finally, internal sources familiar with the matter say that other key executives, considered his collaborators, could soon be fired, or forced to resign, of course.
An unknown replacement
Proof that things must have gotten worse recently, the successor is not yet known and John Elkann, president of Stellantis, will act as interim member of the new temporary executive committee until a new CEO is appointed. “during the first half of 2026“.
“Our thanks go to Carlos Tavares for his years of dedicated service and the role he played in creating Stellantis, complementing the turnarounds of PSA and Opel, putting us on the path to becoming a global leader in our industry . I look forward to working with our new interim Executive Committee with the support of all our colleagues at Stellantis, as we continue the process of appointing our new CEO. Together, we will ensure that we continue to deploy the company's strategy in the long-term interest of Stellantis and all of its stakeholders.” declared the Stellantis group.
It's no surprise
As we mentioned above, the rag had been burning for a while and Carlos Tavares' methods did not only have followers. Lowering costs at all costs, and increasing sales prices to display good profit margins will ultimately not have been an illusion for long, and the strong surge on the stock market which reached its peak (€27 per share) the month before the monumental salary of the former CEO (36 million euros), before the price collapsed constantly since then, reaching €12/share in recent days.
Another problem, another bad management, that of the Citroën airbags. © Citroën
The poor management of airbag problems and the infamous PureTech engine probably didn't help, not to mention that sales were not good either in Europe or on the other side of the Atlantic.
Carlos Tavares has talked about retiring, which he will be able to do comfortably with the “tens of millions of euros” negotiated as part of his departure, however he could be offered a position with one of the Chinese manufacturers who wish to develop further on the European market.
