Stellantis Slaps Parking Tickets On Employees' Cars For Not Being Stellantis Enough

If you work for Stellantis, and don't want to walk at least half an hour from your car to your desk, you better drive a Stellantis vehicle. According to the Wall Street Journal, if you don't, your other kind of car will be relegated to inferior parking lots, adding a few thousand steps to your morning and afternoon commutes every day. If you fail to heed the corporate warning signs, and do park your outsider's car in a designated Stellantis vehicle lot, you'll be ticketed. So if you work for America's third most famous auto giant, you might want to check out those corporate lease deals. 

Parking lot security is said to be pretty lenient, and won't give fines right away. But if you do get ticketed, and you keep racking 'em up by parking in lots you aren't supposed to, security will put a wheel boot on your car. And having it removed it will require a less than enjoyable phone call.

There's a subreddit dedicated to folks who work for Stellantis, and they often post and comment about the non-Stellantis vehicle parking tickets. Understandably, some are big mad about it. "Sorry I didn't let y'all dictate the second biggest financial decision of my life last time I checked this was a workplace not a f*cking cult," said one employee. That same employee also said that they'd buy a Stellantis product, but the company doesn't have an affordable two-seat sports car anymore. Other employees understand the policy, even if they don't like it, and just follow the rules. 

I do wonder what counts as a Stellantis product, though. One employee posted that their Eagle Talon was ticketed, despite Eagle having been part of Chrysler back in its day. That's an understandable mistake by security, though, as Eagle isn't exactly a beloved classic brand. However, it does bring up some curiosities. Alfa Romeo is part of Stellantis, but wasn't always. So what if an employee shows up in an old Alfa that was built long before the two brands were related? 

Stellantis isn't the only brand from Detroit brand to have had such policies, even if it might be the only one enforcing it at the moment. Ford and GM have been known to employ versions of the same policy, to keep their own branded vehicles on their lots, but Ford told WSJ that it doesn't have designated parking for non-Ford cars. (It definitely used to, though.)

It's also legal, too. Steve Lehto, a consumer-protections lawyer in Michigan, told WSJ that Stellantis is legally allowed to discriminate against other car brands in its parking lots. He also warned workers that parking your non-Stellantis car in the wrong spot could generally be a bad idea. "If you park a foreign car in the lot, bad things might happen to it," he said. "Not a ticket — just bad things." 

Hey, at least Stellantis tries to help by offering incentives for buying its cars. In Stellantis job listings on LinkedIn, it claims: "Eligible employees and their immediate families can participate in the company vehicle lease program, providing access to Stellantis vehicles with insurance, maintenance, and unlimited miles included. Plus, take advantage of exclusive discounts on Stellantis products." I don't know exactly how helpful that employee car program is, or who counts as eligible employees, but it's better than nothing, I guess.