Automaker Stellantis to suspend COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. staff

(Reuters) – Automaker Stellantis NV said it would suspend its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. employees, days after the country’s Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses.

“With more than 97% of our U.S. salaried non-represented workforce in compliance or with an approved exemption – the company has decided to suspend the full implementation of the vaccine mandate”, Stellantis said on Friday.

Stellantis said in November it required all its 14,000 U.S. salaried non-represented employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 5.

The Amsterdam-based Chrysler parent said on Friday it would continue to monitor the situation and the guidance of public health authorities to make any modifications necessary to its policy.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)