By David Shepardson
(Reuters) - Chrysler-parent Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) said on Friday it will not advertise in next month's NFL Super Bowl, citing the challenging U.S. automotive market.
In November, General Motors (NYSE:GM) said it would not advertise during the heavily watched National Football League championship game as it cuts marketing costs. Stellantis said earlier this week it had opted not to take part in upcoming auto shows in Chicago and Washington.
"With a continued focus on preserving business fundamentals to mitigate the impact of a challenging U.S. automotive market, we are evaluating our business needs and will take the appropriate decisions to protect our North America operations," a Stellantis spokesperson said.
Earlier this week, Stellantis said U.S. sales fell 1% last year to 1.53 million vehicles.
The parent company of Jeep, Chrysler and Ram has often used the Super Bowl for major advertising including spots featuring Clint Eastwood, Eminem, Bruce Springsteen and Bill Murray. A 30-second ad in the 2023 Super Bowl went for about $7 million.
In November, Stellantis offered 6,400 U.S. salaried employees voluntary buyouts as it works to cut costs amid the transition to electric vehicles, and agreeing to a new United Auto Workers (UAW) contract.
Workers who elected buyouts had to depart by last week. The company declined to say how many had left.
In April, Stellantis said it was offering voluntary exit packages to 33,500 U.S. employees. That offer covered 31,000 U.S. hourly workers and about 2,500 salaried workers. It also offered some employees in Canada voluntary buyouts.
Under the UAW contract, the company agreed to offer $50,000 buyouts for veteran production and skilled trade members. It will also offer buyouts in 2024 and 2026.
Stellantis said on Oct. 31 it would seek to offset a significant financial hit from strikes in North America that led to big pay increases and added it was looking at cost cuts.