Fiat Chrysler And PSA Shareholders Approve £38 Billion Merger

Shareholders at Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group have approved a £38 billion ($52 billion) merger.

The deal means the new company, Stellantis, will be the fourth biggest car manufacturer in the world.

PA

In total Stellantis will have 14 brands, including Fiat Chrysler's Fiat, Maserati and US-focused Jeep, Dodge and Ram, and PSA's Europe-focused Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and DS.

Talks began two years ago and more than 99 percent of shareholders backed the merger today (Monday). Executives expect the merger to be finalised by the end of March.

The move brings with it the possibility of job losses, as the company looks to cut costs.

Karl Brauer, executive analyst for the iSeeCars.com, told Market Watch: "You can't be cost efficient if you keep the entire scale of both companies.

"We've seen this show before, and we're going to see it again where they economise these platforms across continents, across multiple markets."

In November, PSA pledged not to close factories after the merger - despite the fact the combined group would have spare production capacity of almost six million cars.

Topics: World News, Car, Cars

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey