The manufacturer Stellantis introduced teleworking in 2014, well before the Covid crisis. Today, the company is backtracking and “ultimately” asking its employees to return to the office every day.
Stellantis turns around. However, the company was a pioneer in teleworking in France. Well before Covid, in 2014, PSA (which became Stellantis in 2021) had introduced remote working for its tertiary sector employees. But this page in the history of the automobile manufacturer has definitely been turned.
Stellantis management announced that it was ultimately aiming for a return to 100% face-to-face operations. In April 2025, the tide had already started to turn for the group’s employees who work remotely. Management had indicated that it wanted a return to site three days a week at least, while around 4,000 employees only went to the office one week a month or one day a week.
“Build stronger connections”
“Stellantis is currently defining a plan for European employees to gradually move to an on-site working model over the coming months, with the aim of ultimately moving to a fully on-site schedule,” the manufacturer explains to BFM Business.
“This approach will help strengthen alignment, teamwork and hands-on engagement with Stellantis vehicles and technologies. This project confirms that bringing teams together to establish stronger connections is a competitive priority,” adds the company, which highlights “collaboration and in-person connection”.
Except that this announcement is a blow to a certain number of employees. “The climate is very anxiety-inducing. Employees come to see us, they ask us a lot of questions,” confirms Laurent Oechsel, CFE-CGC union representative.
“Some have moved to Toulon or live in the Vallée de la Bièvre… For these, returning face-to-face will be very complicated, which is why we are asking for adjustments on a case-by-case basis,” he explains to BFM Business.
“Those who live far away, those who help…”
“Legally, the company can decide to return to face-to-face work, it is the Labor Code. So we take note of this, on the other hand we will try to negotiate to reduce the harm and ensure that there is more tolerance depending on the different cases, such as those who live far away, those who are caregivers, etc.,” specifies the union representative.
“But obviously, these rules must be written and formalized, it’s a delicate process.”
Laurent Oechsel also questions the capacities of the offices to accommodate everyone. Stellantis management specifies that “the transition will be carried out gradually, taking into account our contractual and legal specificities, as well as our reception capacities of each site”.
Since April 11, 2025, the car manufacturer had asked employees to return face-to-face 3 days a week “as and when they are able to do so”. This has already been the case for employees of the Belchamp site since January 1. On the other hand, those on the Poissy campus are still waiting for new areas to open in the coming weeks to be present three days a week, again according to the company. A return to 100% face-to-face could therefore take time.
date: 2026-02-13 20:18:00
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