The Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out last year affected different sectors while upsetting the lives of many people. One of them was truck drivers. Most of the truck drivers in Europe also came from Ukraine. As a result, the number of people in this area has decreased significantly. On the other hand, the logistics problems and chip problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected truck drivers.
Now, the news reveals how seriously the automotive industry has been affected by this situation. Stellantis, the roof company of brands such as Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot, and Opel, and its rival Renault, began to turn to their own employees to meet their truck driver needs.
Stellantis and Renault begin training their employees to become truck drivers
According to Automotive News Europe, Stellantis began sending e-mails to factory workers to get behind the wheel of trucks and hung posters in the factories. In the statement made yesterday, it was stated that about 140 staff members – Spain, Italy and France – have already signed up for this job. In addition, it was reported that the company paid the training costs for the driver and plans to buy its own trucks.
It was stated that job changes at Stellantis could be temporary or permanent. A company spokesperson stated that when these problems are over, those who want to return to the factory can change their position again.
On the other hand, rival company Renault has made a similar move. According to a company spokesperson, the auto giant has begun training some of its employees to get them fit to drive trucks and get their licenses.
Auto giants in Europe could not deliver thousands of vehicles due to truck driver shortage
These moves come in the wake of growing trucker problems. Renault drew attention to logistical problems in a statement made at the end of last year. At the same time, Stellantis stated that there were serious problems in global logistics operations.
Truck driver shortages have also resulted in companies failing to deliver their cars. For example, last year, thousands of vehicles were stranded at a Stellantis factory in France because of this situation. On the other hand, the German company Volkswagen had to deal with a similar problem and could not deliver their vehicles to its customers.
That’s why companies started to turn to alternative ways to solve the shortage. Let’s add that Sellantis is considering creative avenues other than making its own employees truck drivers. For example, the company is working on a way for dealers to come and pick up the vehicles themselves.
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