Stellantis ended the most recent year with more than 10,000 additional employees worldwide, including about 4,700 in North America. For the first time since the group’s creation, that marks a reversal of the workforce downsizing trend that had defined the entire Tavares era. Under the previous CEO, the group eliminated nearly 50,000 positions globally in just a few years, with especially heavy cuts in areas historically tied to the automaker’s industrial footprint, such as Michigan. Now, under Antonio Filosa, that trajectory appears to have turned around.
Stellantis adds more than 10,000 jobs as hiring returns under Antonio Filosa
At year-end, Stellantis employed 258,668 people worldwide, a figure close to the 2023 total. The key point, however, is not the absolute number but the fact that the long downward curve seems to have stopped. The group has started hiring again, and one of the places where the change is most visible is Auburn Hills, the headquarters and technology center for the Jeep and Ram brands. In recent months, the area has become more active again, both because employees have returned to the office five days a week and because Stellantis has launched a new recruiting push. People who have worked in that environment for years describe a visible transformation, with parking lots full again, a source of some controversy, and a facility that no longer feels half empty.
Stellantis now has about 400 open positions in Auburn Hills and more than 600 across the United States, but the more significant numbers involve the medium-term plan. Filosa has announced the hiring of 2,000 engineers by 2027 to strengthen quality and product development, with most of those hires set to take place in the United States. On top of that, Stellantis plans to add 5,000 manufacturing workers in the U.S. over the next four years as part of a $13 billion investment plan aimed at launching new models and reviving plants that currently run below capacity. The company had already announced another 200 hires tied to sales, service, and parts distribution in the U.S. market.
A significant share of North American job growth has nevertheless taken place in Mexico, where the group has expanded operations in particular at Toluca and Saltillo. In Toluca, Stellantis added a third shift to support production of the new Jeep Cherokee. In Saltillo, the company increased staffing on the lines that build the Ram 1500 and the brand’s heavy-duty trucks.
Outside North America, the picture looks uneven. South America added about 6,000 positions, and the Middle East and Africa region also shows a positive trend. Europe, by contrast, is moving in the opposite direction, with employment falling to 124,084, the lowest level since Stellantis was created.
For Michigan, the signal feels especially important because the steady reduction of Stellantis’ presence in the area had fueled growing concern in recent years among unions, local authorities, and industry observers. During the 2023 labor negotiations, even the Auburn Hills headquarters appeared among the facilities that could potentially face risk. The fact that the area is filling up again does not mean the story is over, but it does mark the first moment when the direction inside Stellantis seems to have shifted away from the years of cuts.
