The newly merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles automaker will have its headquarters in London, CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed. Fiat is currently headquartered in Turin, Italy, while Chrysler’s home is in Auburn Hills, outside of Detroit.
“Headquarters will be in London. It’s clear that group executive functions, the board, my office, some of my functions, need to operate out of London, but that doesn’t mean that I’m giving up my operational responsibilities of the U.S. We will be multi-faceted… we will do stuff everywhere,” Marchionne was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The decision could be interpreted as an attempt to avoid upsetting Italy and the U.S., while presenting some logistic advantages. The U.S. is easily accessible from London, as is Italy. When Fiat took full control of Chrysler in January by creating the world’s seventh-largest auto group, the company said it would have its primary listing in New York, with a secondary listing in Milan. It also said that FCA would be registered in the Netherlands with its tax domicile in the UK.
Italian politicians and unions have been concerned about potential job cuts because of the move of headquarters, but Marchionne has stressed that the merger would not have an impact on jobs in Italy or the U.S.
By Dan Mihalascu
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