Stellantis forces employees back to the office 5 days a week, but then gets busy booting them in the parking lot

Stellantis employees are now getting parking tickets for driving non-Stellantis vehicles to work. Workers at the Jeep parent company’s North American headquarters are receiving warnings from Stellantis security for parking non-company cars in designated spots. Signs in the lots clearly read “Stellantis Vehicle Parking Only”, and security is actively enforcing the rule.

One employee posted online, asking, “Where do we park if we have non Stellantis vehicle?” Al Amici, a former executive at the company, explained that several thousand people compete for spots in the large lots and parking decks around headquarters. The walk from the furthest spots can take 20-30 minutes, plus another 15-20 minutes to reach your desk, making a closer spot a strong motivation, especially in bad weather.

These tickets are not fines right away. They start as warnings. But if an employee collects too many, their vehicle can get booted by security. According to The Wall Street Journal, a Stellantis spokeswoman confirmed that preferred parking is reserved for company-branded vehicles, stating, “Employees must adhere to posted signage and communications.”

Enforcement has led to some confusion, including a ticket for a car from a brand Stellantis itself owns

Earlier this year, Stellantis made it mandatory for all its U.S. employees to return to a five-day office schedule for the first time since the pandemic. But the Stellantis-only parking enforcement has created some odd situations for returning workers.

One employee was ticketed for parking an Eagle Talon, even though Eagle was a defunct Chrysler nameplate, a brand that is now part of Stellantis. Stellantis admitted that older vehicles from its legacy brands might get misidentified, and said it is “reviewing its processes to help prevent such situations in the future.”

The company also encourages employees to contact Corporate Security if they think a warning was issued by mistake. This kind of policy is not unique to Stellantis. Crosstown rivals General Motors and Ford have similar histories.

Ford once banned workers at a Dearborn factory from parking nearby if they did not drive a Ford. In 2021, security at a GM plant ticketed a Tesla owner for parking a “foreign” car in a domestic lot, even though the Tesla was made in the United States.

Steve Lehto, a consumer-protection lawyer in Michigan, confirmed that companies can legally issue citations to enforce their own parking policies. The police in Auburn Hills, where Stellantis’s headquarters is located, do not enforce these internal parking rules unless it involves a handicap or fire lane violation.

Deputy Police Chief Scott McGraw said they have not received any complaints about internal enforcement and are not aware of other Auburn Hills employers having similar brand-specific parking rules. If you are buying a car through a dealership, it is also worth knowing how dealers hide extra costs in your loan.

Amici said he understands the motivation behind the policy. Stellantis does offer shuttles from some outer parking areas to help workers who park far away, and he thinks the company is “trying to strike a balance.” 

Still, workers on campus say they spot tickets on a near-daily basis, particularly in the larger parking decks. This situation is part of a broader trend of companies tightening workplace rules, similar to how some agencies have been asking laid-off staff to return after job cuts.

One long-time employee recalled a time several years ago when the headquarters was nearly empty. He took a chance and parked at the end of a row reserved for Stellantis vehicles. “There was barely anybody there,” he said, but he got a ticket anyway.