DETROIT -- "Arrogant." It's the word former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares used in June to describe mistakes that led to the automaker's troubles in the U.S. It's also how executives who worked with him described the automotive veteran to CNBC over the past year.
Several former or current leaders, as well as other U.S. employees with the trans-Atlantic automaker, said Tavares' relentless focus on cost-cutting, his goal of achieving double-digit profit margins under his "Dare Forward 2030" business plan, and a reluctance, if not unwillingness, to listen to U.S. executives about the American market led to the company's current situation and, ultimately, Tavares' departure last week.
The sources, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity in order to talk freely and avoid repercussions, were interviewed at various times throughout 2024, including several last week.
"If you think you know everything, you're not going to listen to anybody else," one source told CNBC, saying the pressure to cut costs felt like having a pistol "to your head."
Another source said Tavares had a tendency to cast blame on U.S. executives while ignoring any of his own mistakes: "If you don't know the market, you don't know the customers; you can't make the right decisions," the person said.
Investors also had turned on the chief executive, with U.S.-traded shares of Stellantis off 43% in 2024 prior to his departure. That compares with General Motors up 55%, and Ford Motor off 9%, during that time frame.
Such issues ultimately led to Tavares' resignation, with the company saying Dec. 1 that he was leaving immediately because of "different views" with Stellantis' board. French financial newspaper Les Echos reported that Tavares' departure was a negotiated resignation that came after the company's board decided to terminate him.
The board's actions surprised many inside and outside Stellantis which Tavares had led since spearheading a merger in January 2021 between his French automaker PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler. Stellantis is now one of world's largest automakers owning brands such as Jeep Dodge Fiat Chrysler Peugeot among others.