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A Vauxhall car plant The owner of Vauxhall has ordered staff back into the office, becoming the latest big business to reverse pandemic-era work-from-home rules. Stellantis, which also owns Fiat, Citroën and Peugeot, said the “pragmatic” change will require employees to come to the office at least three days a week on average – and potentially all week if they are working on urgent projects. Previously, Stellantis had agreed to let staff work remotely 70pc of the time. The company told auto engineers to return earlier this year, but the drive has now been extended to include research and development teams and several other roles. Speaking at the Paris auto show, Xavier Chéreau, Stellantis’s human resources chief, told Bloomberg: “We need to be pragmatic and we are recalibrating.
“If there’s a difficult project that needs attention, then it’s all week in the office.” He added: “Given what the situation is today, I feel the need to be with my teams more often, to reassure, to communicate, to help make sense of things.” The move is a significant change in direction for Stellantis, which had previously championed remote working under outgoing boss Carlos Tavares. Carlos Tavares, Stellantis’s outgoing boss, has described working from home as ‘an opportunity to recreate a better balance’ - Benoit Tessier/Reuters In 2022, he described working from home as “an opportunity to recreate a better [life] balance”, telling the financial news website Mint: “I don’t see it at all as a risk. “In fact, I think people are working more than before. Look at how tired you are at the end of one full day of remote work. “You want to go out and have a walk for an hour just to refresh your mind because it was so intense.
So why shouldn’t we trust each other? I think it’s the only way to go.” Mr Tavares has come under scrutiny from investors following slow sales and production delays that led to a profit warning at Stellantis last month. On Monday it was confirmed he would leave the company when his contract expires in 2026. “I’m the guy who is heading the company, so I’m here to take the hits,” Mr Tavares told reporters in Paris. However, he has insisted his departure has been prompted by “personal reasons”. He pushed back against criticisms of his performance, saying the company would address weak US sales this year, and has jettisoned his finance chief.
Stellantis is the latest major business to unwind remote working arrangements that were rushed into effect during coronavirus lockdowns, as bosses fret about falling productivity, difficulties with training recruits and a loss of shared workplace culture. Other companies that have reversed course include Facebook owner Meta, tech giant Saleforce, Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Deloitte. Story continues Some have faced resistance from staff, with tough competition for talent complicating efforts to crack down. As part of the drive to get employees back in, Stellantis has been overhauling its buildings to incorporate more open spaces as opposed to private individual offices.
Vauxhall owner hauls staff back to the office in effort to reverse sales slump
October 15, 2024 12:00 PM BST | By EODHD
