The millions of euros in bonuses awarded to the leaders of the Stellantis automobile group, owner of Peugeot, Citroën, or even Fiat are disputed by shareholders, unions and even by politicians, ten days before the second round of the presidential election. The salary of Carlos Tavares, who is to receive 19 million euros for his results obtained in 2021 at the head of the group, is one of the highest in the world automobile, but also in the French economy.
Group boss Carlos Tavares is due to receive 19 million euros for 2021
The performances of the year 2021 having been exceptional, the general manager, Carlos Tavares, should reach term a total of 19 million euros for the past year. Alongside a fixed salary of 2 million euros, the variable part constitutes the majority (89%) of his remuneration.
Gathered in a virtual general meeting, a majority of shareholders of Stellantis voted, in an advisory capacity, against the manufacturer’s wage policy, which remunerates its managers according to their performance. They had approved it in early 2021 when the group was born, resulting from the merger of Peugeot-Citroën-Opel (PSA) and Fiat-Chrysler.
A salary “less shocking than for others” believes Marine Le Pen, “excessive” for Bruno Le Maire
“It’s shocking, but less shocking than for others”, commented Marine Le Pen on Wednesday. The RN presidential candidate estimated that “for once, he got good results”.
The Minister ofEconomy Bruno Le Maire was much more severe: “This remuneration is excessive and that raises the question of the remuneration of top business leaders“, he reacted on France 5. The State is a shareholder of Stellantis with approximately 6%, via the public investment bank Bpifrance. Bruno Le Maire also pleaded for the subject of the“wage gap” between the managers of a company and the employees is discussed “at the European level”.
In a very complicated context for the automotive industry, Stellantis generated a net profit of 13.4 billion euros in 2021, almost tripled compared to 2020. The Franco-Italian-American group is domiciled for tax purposes in the Netherlands.
Remuneration that goes badly for unions and employees
According to the CFDT, this remuneration has “difficult to pass with employees who are asked every day to strive for competitiveness”. Following the annual salary negotiations, the management of Stellantis had not proposed a general increase for its French employeesbut an average of +3.2% (+2.8% for workers) and a profit-sharing and profit-sharing bonus of at least 4,000 euros gross per employee. “It is urgent that our politicians finally take real action on the capping of the salaries of our leaders”, underlined Christine Virassamy, CFDT central union delegate.
“The gap continues to increase between the lowest salaries and the highest salaries”, according to Franck Don, secretary general of the CFTC at Stellantis, who points to a phenomenon “very disturbing”. “Tavares is a very good captain of industry but at some point you have to stay within reason”judges the trade unionist.
A salary highly contested by some shareholders of the group
The management company PhiTrust, a minority shareholder in Stellantis, announced on Tuesday voted against compensation by Carlos Tavares. She rates it at 66 million euros for the year 2021if ambitious long-term objectives are reached at their maximum in 2028. This remuneration “Is it socially justified when the group will probably have to face massive restructuring with job cuts as a result, given its excess production capacity?” asks PhiTrust in a press release. At the end of the vote, she judged “desirable” that the board of directors of the group “take into account” this negative vote “by reviewing the executive compensation policy”.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann emphasized at the AGM that it was a “conviction of the board of directors” to opt for the “Meritocracy” and “to reward performance”. The group pointed out that Phitrust’s figures were “fake” and that the bonuses would notably be paid only if the value of the share doubled by 2028.