Welcome to the Dec. 4 edition of the Daily 5.
Now that Stellantis has parted ways with CEO Carlos Tavares a year earlier than expected, it can push the search for its new top executive to a higher level: urgent.
Today's developments in this saga — which broke Sunday with news of Tavares' departure — started with a public denial of a report saying Apple's outgoing CFO Luca Maestri is taking the Stellantis job. Maestri is Italian and the report came from an Italian newspaper. Go figure.
Soon after that report was denied, reports surfaced explaining how Tavares and the Stellantis board went sidewise over the last month. CFO Doug Ostermann said divergences between Tavares and Stellantis board members included priorities for the 15 months left before Tavares' term was set to expire, Bloomberg reported.
"Those related to tactical issues on how to run the business over that short-term time period, and what actions should be taken in regard to short-term metrics versus longer-term benefit of the company," he said.
Stellantis insiders told Reuters that Tavares' plans quickly became too "radical" for his board.
The story of how Tavares failed is still emerging, but the real question is this: Can a new CEO even fix this troubled automaker with 14 brands and historical roots in three countries with political allegiances to mend?
Our editorial today suggests Stellantis in its current form may be ungovernable.
"It is certainly in need of a major overhaul on both sides of the Atlantic — work that will not come easy for whomever its board finds to permanently succeed Tavares," we wrote.
"Brands will have to be culled and many jobs are likely to be lost. It will be a dirty business, and Tavares' history of confrontational relationships with dealers, suppliers and workers has left few natural constituencies eager to help his successor without evidence of fundamental changes ahead."
Meanwhile, General Motors bit the bullet today for its growing problems in China. About $5 billion in charges will affect GM's net income primarily in the fourth quarter and will be reported as one-time special items, our story today said. The restructuring is expected to include plant closings and the discontinuation of models as GM strives to optimize its China product portfolio, with a focus on electric vehicles, hybrids and high-end imports.
Looking ahead to Thursday, our reporter Jack Walsworth is going to tell us why Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn Calder sees 2025 as a big year for the automaker.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
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