Stellantis said on Feb. 26, 2026 that U.S. hourly employees covered by the United Auto Workers will not receive a profit-sharing check for 2025 after the company’s North America results fell short of the thresholds in the 2023 UAW contract. The decision follows a sharp decline in recent payouts — from $14,760 in 2022 and $13,860 in 2023 to $3,780 for 2024 — and comes as competitor automakers Ford and General Motors announced sizable 2025 payouts to their UAW-represented workers. Stellantis reported a negative 3.1% adjusted operating margin in North America for 2025, the company said, citing product mix, higher warranty and incentive costs, and U.S. tariffs as key headwinds. Management framed the year as a reset and signaled actions intended to improve 2026 results, including product and portfolio shifts.
Key Takeaways
- Stellantis will not pay any 2025 profit-sharing to U.S. hourly workers covered by the UAW, announced with its Feb. 26, 2026 earnings release.
- The automaker’s North America adjusted operating margin was negative 3.1% for 2025, compared with 4.2% in 2024 and 15.4% in 2023.
- Recent payouts to Stellantis UAW workers were $3,780 for 2024, down 73% from $13,860 in 2023 and $14,760 in 2022.
- Under the 2023 UAW agreement, eligible union employees receive $900 per 1% of North America profit margin, prorated by hours worked.
- By contrast, GM announced up to $10,500 for eligible workers and Ford announced roughly $6,780 for eligible workers for their 2025 performance.
- Stellantis cited a “profound and necessary business reset,” and highlighted steps such as returning the Hemi V-8 to the Ram 1500 as part of a strategy to restore margins.
- U.S. vehicle sales fell for the seventh straight year in 2025, adding to regional pressure on margins and payouts.
Background
Annual profit-sharing payments for hourly U.S. autoworkers are tied to company performance in North America and were reinstated across the industry after the bankruptcy-era disruptions of the late 2000s. Stellantis and its predecessor firms have paid profit-sharing in most years since early 2011, with particularly large checks in 2022 and 2023 driven by strong margins across the region. The 2023 collective bargaining agreement with the UAW set a specific formula: $900 per 1% of adjusted operating margin in North America, allocated based on hours worked the prior year.
Those payments function as a visible barometer of an automaker’s short-term profitability and help shape labor relations, compensation expectations and political messaging. Stellantis faces several structural and cyclical challenges in the U.S. market: an unfavorable product mix, elevated warranty and incentive spending, and the company says a higher cost base resulting in part from U.S. tariffs. Competitors have reported better margin outcomes for 2025, enabling them to announce meaningful profit-sharing payments to UAW-represented workers this cycle.
Main Event
After releasing full-year financial results early on Feb. 26, 2026, Stellantis said North America did not meet the minimum thresholds defined in the 2023 UAW collective bargaining agreement, and therefore no profit sharing will be paid to UAW-represented employees for 2025. The company pointed to a difficult year marked by margin erosion and described 2025 as a period of reset to address prior strategic choices. That message accompanied a suite of financial metrics showing downside in the region, including the negative 3.1% adjusted operating margin.
The company also noted operational improvements in the back half of 2025: vehicle shipments, net revenues, adjusted operating income and market share moved higher after midyear. Despite the late-year momentum, the full-year margin result was insufficient to trigger the profit-sharing formula. Stellantis attributed the shortfall to product mix issues, warranty and incentive costs and the burden of tariffs in the U.S.
Stellantis’ statement referenced recent business decisions intended to replenish demand and profitability, including the reinstatement of the Hemi V-8 engine in the Ram 1500. Management framed those as”decisive actions” designed to deliver better financial results in 2026, while acknowledging the immediate consequences for employee profit-sharing awards. The company’s finance disclosure tied the profit-sharing outcome directly to the adjusted operating income margin calculation used in the 2023 UAW deal.
Analysis & Implications
The absence of a 2025 profit-sharing payout at Stellantis has implications across three areas: labor relations, competitive positioning and near-term financial planning. For UAW-represented workers, profit-sharing has been an important, contractually specified income supplement; losing that payment in 2025 narrows total compensation compared with years when margins were strong. That gap is particularly stark because Ford and GM are paying their eligible employees meaningful sums for 2025 performance.
From a competitive standpoint, the divergence in payouts highlights how company-specific product mix and cost decisions translate into cash for workers. Stellantis’ negative margin reflects a combination of demand patterns and higher spend on warranties and incentives; until those cost drivers are contained or revenue mix improves, profitability-based payouts will remain vulnerable. Management’s product decisions — including features or engines intended to boost truck demand — may help, but their impact on full-year margins can lag the calendar and may not restore payouts immediately.
Macroeconomic and policy factors also matter. The company called out U.S. tariffs as a headwind; tariff-driven cost increases can reduce factory-level margins independent of unit volumes. If tariffs persist or incentives remain elevated across the industry to stimulate demand, margin recovery will be harder. Conversely, a sustained rebound in shipments and favorable product mix could restore North America adjusted operating margins and trigger profit-sharing in subsequent years.
Comparison & Data
| Year / Item | Stellantis NA Margin | Stellantis Payout (UAW) | GM Payout | Ford Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15.4% | $13,860 | Record $14,500 (GM) | $10,208 (Ford) |
| 2024 | 4.2% | $3,780 | — | — |
| 2025 | -3.1% | $0 | Up to $10,500 | ~$6,780 |
The table above shows how Stellantis’ margin swing from 15.4% in 2023 to -3.1% in 2025 maps to a sharp decline and eventual elimination of profit-sharing for UAW-represented workers. GM and Ford reported stronger enough regional results to fund payouts for their eligible workers in 2025; those company announcements reflect different mixes of products, pricing and cost control in the U.S. market.
Reactions & Quotes
“2025 was a very challenging year for Stellantis, reflecting the cost of a profound and necessary business reset to correct past decisions,” the company said in a statement accompanying its earnings release.
Stellantis (company statement)
“There will be no profit sharing paid to UAW-represented employees for 2025,” the Stellantis spokesperson added when explaining the threshold shortfall under the 2023 UAW agreement.
Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson (company statement)
“GM will pay payouts of up to $10,500 to eligible workers,” company communications announced earlier this year—an example of a different profit-sharing outcome tied to a stronger margin performance.
General Motors (company announcement)
Unconfirmed
- Whether the product changes announced by Stellantis — including the Hemi V-8 return to Ram 1500 — will be sufficient to restore North America margins and trigger profit-sharing in 2026 remains uncertain.
- The precise contribution of U.S. tariff costs to the 2025 margin decline is described by the company as material but lacks a line-item public quantification in the earnings summary.
- Any future adjustments to the profit-sharing formula or thresholds in ongoing labor discussions are not confirmed and would require formal negotiation between Stellantis and the UAW.
Bottom Line
Stellantis’ decision not to pay 2025 profit-sharing to U.S. UAW-represented hourly workers is a direct result of a negative 3.1% adjusted operating margin in North America and the mechanics of the 2023 UAW agreement. The outcome underscores how quickly margin swings translate into worker compensation under contract formulas, and why product mix, warranty and incentive spending, and policy-driven costs can have immediate labor consequences.
For workers and observers, the critical near-term questions are whether Stellantis’ operational moves will materially improve 2026 margins and whether that improvement will be sufficient to resume payouts. The contrast with GM and Ford payouts for 2025 highlights how company-specific results — not industry-wide trends alone — determine the presence and size of profit-sharing checks.