DETROIT — Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has unexpectedly resigned amid a “growing divergence of views” between senior management and the board, the company said Sunday.

The world’s fourth-largest automaker said the board accepted Tavares’ resignation on Sunday. His departure is effective immediately.

The Jeep maker Stellantis said the process of appointing a new CEO is “progressing well” and expects to complete the search in the first half of next year. Until then, the company said it will form a new interim executive committee led by Chairman John Elkann.

“Stellantis’ success since its inception has been rooted in a perfect alignment between shareholders, the board and the CEO,” Stellantis senior independent director Henri de Castries said in a press release. “However, divergent views have emerged in recent weeks, leading the board and the CEO to make today’s decision.”

A Stellantis spokesman declined to disclose any additional information about the resignation.

Tavares’ resignation comes less than two months after the company announced he would retire when his contract expires in early 2026. At the time, Stellantis said it planned to name a successor by the fourth quarter of next year.

Tavares has led Stellantis since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV merged with PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2021, having served as chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s board since 2014.

The veteran auto industry veteran, a protégé of former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn, has been widely credited in recent years for spearheading mergers and turning Stellantis into one of the world’s most profitable automakers.

But this year, the company’s financial results have severely missed expectations, citing mismanagement of the U.S. market (its main source of cash), a lack of investment in new or updated products, historically high prices and extreme cost-cutting measures.

The company, which also owns the Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot brands, cut its annual guidance in September, just a month after reporting a 27% drop in third-quarter net income.

Stellantis has also struggled with sales this year. Most recently, the company reported that global auto sales fell about 20% year-over-year in the third quarter. U.S. auto sales continued a year of free fall, despite Tavares’ attempts to correct what he called “arrogance.”

The company’s U.S.-traded shares will fall about 43% in 2024.

Tavares has made cost-cutting a key priority at Stellantis, including reporting that the combined company cut 8.4 billion euros ($9 billion) in costs.

The cost-saving measures include reshaping the company’s supply chain and operations, reducing the number of employees in the United States and adding jobs in low-cost countries such as Brazil and Mexico.

Several current and former Stellantis executives previously told CNBC that the layoffs were too harsh and caused problems in the United States. The executives requested anonymity due to concerns about possible repercussions.

Tavares refuted the claim that the company’s massive cost-cutting initiatives have caused problems.

“When you fail to deliver for any reason … you might be tempted to find a scapegoat. Budget cuts are an easy way to do that. That’s wrong,” Tavares said in July.

Stellantis has cut its workforce by 15.5%, or about 47,500 people, between December 2019 and the end of 2023, according to public filings. The company has cut thousands of jobs at its plants in the U.S. and Italy this year, sparking the ire of unions in both countries.

The United Auto Workers has been calling for Tavares’ ouster for months as its members face layoffs and production cuts. Stellantis’ U.S. dealer network has also turned against Tavares because of excess inventory and the company’s lack of financial support to sell cars.
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