The era is over TavaresSignificant profits achieved by the dragging "drift" of the Marchionne management and by frantic cost cuts without paying attention to any entrepreneurial logic that have emptied a company in the presence of a market situation that is almost impossible to deal with under normal conditions, let alone with a Tavares management.
The ecological transition and the consequences on the European car market justify the existing difficulties and critical issues (just look at what is happening in Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW), but Tavares managed to make the Stellantis situation even more dramatic with his inconsistencies and his dogmatism on costs and pricing policy. From the beginning, one could understand the critical issues of a management based only on the reduction of essential costs for civil coexistence (one for all: cleaning the toilets and changing rooms, cutting the grass in the factories) and... the sale of the Fiat museum, choices that demonstrated a lack of historical sense, lack of knowledge of the environment, and absence of industrial culture.
I am not talking about plans, products, strategies, but about basic conditions of relationships and respect for workers and the business world! Now we have to see if there are still people capable of reacting. When he arrived Marchionne in June 2004, in a company on the verge of bankruptcy, there was still a structure of professionals within it who, despite the general disarray (the disappearance of the lawyer Agnelli and the rotation of 4 managing directors in 2 years) had achieved in the early 2000s: the car of the year, the truck of the year, the tractor of the year.
Today, after the Tavares treatment, what is left of that professional family? Surely the South America area which, despite Tavares' management, has managed to improve and consolidate its presence on the continent with a successful economic management of the product, and respect for workers and the social context.
The new Stellantis could start again from South America? In Italy, it would be appropriate to avoid demanding political-institutional meetings right away, but it might be appropriate to wait for Stellantis to redefine the management team and, after making the appropriate assessments, to reopen a correct institutional relationship starting from the real problems but highlighting a desire to give continuity to a corporate history that has lasted 125 years and, whether we like it or not, has represented the development of the Italian economy.
We could take up Marchionne's thought again. In his speech at Palazzo Chigi in December 2009 in front of all the institutions and the Trade Unions, he outlined in detail the complete product and process strategy of the entire Fiat Group and on that occasion he said "what we are trying to do is find the right balance between industrial logic and social responsibility.... I am convinced that there is no other way to manage a complex reality like a company of Fiat's size. Following the criteria and reasons of only one party can cause devastating effects. In the first case, that of pure economic calculation, it would lead to a bloodbath that none of us wants. In the other case, that of exclusive attention to social issues, it would lead to the disappearance of the company. And I believe that none of us wants this either".
Stellantis and Marchionne's unforgettable lesson
How current are the words spoken in Trento in 2017 by Marchionne: “We have been as much to blame for our own failure as we have been to the architects of our own rebirth… A new frontier is opening up, and the transition will be painful for many. We don’t know exactly how long this process will take. We don’t know who really wants the new vehicles or how much they will cost… We don’t know how long it will take to create the necessary infrastructure. We don’t even know what role the world’s governments will play in encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, as is already happening, or in writing the rules for autonomous driving. But one thing is clear: change is coming, fast, in every corner of the industry. And it will be disruptive. If we don’t stay aware and flexible in the midst of all this, we risk waking up one morning like Sherlock Holmes and Watson and realizing that our tent has disappeared.”
The story of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
A little story that I'll mention here in case anyone doesn't know it: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson decide to go camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. In the middle of the night, Sherlock Holmes wakes Watson and says, “Watson, look at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replies, “I see millions and millions of stars.” And Sherlock Holmes: “And what can you deduce from that?” Watson reflects and says, “If there are millions of stars, and if even just some of them have planets, then it is very likely that other planets like Earth exist. And if other planets like Earth exist, then there could be other forms of life.” And Sherlock Holmes: “Watson, you are an idiot. It means that someone stole our tent.” That change has already arrived … and the entire institutional economic system is called upon to govern it so that the end of history does not occur.
