A Carlos Tavares disconnected from reality? In the midst of promoting his autobiography co-written with two journalists, the former boss of Stellantis launched into a daring comparison to demonstrate the low level of remuneration of the political class in France and in particular of the President of the Republic.
“The salary of your President of the Republic?” asks Carlos Tavares, guest of 24H Pujadas at LCI on Tuesday, October 28.
“About 19,000 euros (per month),” answers David Pujadas.
“It is approximately the salary of a good Stellantis engineer with between 5 and 10 years of experience,” comments the former head of the automotive group, before adding:
“I can’t imagine that a country like France (…) can have a President of the Republic paid at the same level as an engineer who is not completely beginner, but barely confirmed in a company like Stellantis.”
Figures very far from reality
But what is it really? In the Elysée, a payroll published in 2024 showed a gross remuneration of 16,039 euros, with a base salary of 12,457 euros, a function allowance of 3,207 euros and a residence allowance of 373 euros.
On the Stellantis side, the figures mentioned by Carlos Tavares would be very far from reality, as indicated by Stellantis’ CFE-CGC in a press release issued on Saturday, November 1, referring to “misinformation” and “totally erroneous and misleading statements.”
“The average salary of an engineer at Stellantis, with between 5 and 10 years of experience, is between 4,000 and 6,000 euros gross per month, bonuses included, according to reliable internal company data,” this press release highlights.
A remuneration that would be, therefore, between 3 and 5 times lower than that of the President of the Republic.
More generally, the information sheet on the Hellowork site about this automotive engineering profession mentions a gross starting salary of 2,800 to 3,000 euros per month, with the possibility of reaching 4,500 euros “mid-term” and 6,000 euros net at the end of the degree (that is, almost 7,700 euros gross). The site “Le Figaro Emploi” shows an average gross monthly salary of 3,646 euros for an experience level of 5 to 10 years.
“Employee anger”
“These statements deeply shocked and outraged employees, engineers and executives, who see them as an unacceptable attempt to distort their professional reality and minimize their daily effort,” says the CFE-CGC press release, which explains “supporting” this “employee anger.”
The union “considers that in the midst of a political crisis and while the automobile industry is going through significant industrial and social difficulties, it is, to say the least, immature and irresponsible to use such false accusations,” with “these comments (which) risk fueling mistrust and further weakening the bond between employees and their company.”
Also surprising is the “mix of genres” to which the former general director of the group indulges, “transformed into a visionary strategist, who seeks to read the future of factories and employees in the trends of the world market”, which in fact emerges from his book and from his various appearances on television or from his statements to the press in recent days.
Source: BFM TV
