Stellantis has reportedly said it will not close factories or implement mass layoffs in Italy.
A Reuters news agency report quoted comments from a company executive at a government-organized meeting in Rome.
The automaker faces industry-wide challenges, including low demand for electric vehicles and competition from China, while dealing with high inventory levels in the US.
The Italian car industry is facing declining production and idled factories, while sales of Stellantis’ Italian brands Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia are declining.
Stellantis’ challenges include bloated U.S. inventories, which have led to lower profit and cash flow forecasts.
The Italian Metalworkers Federation and the Italian Trade Union Federation (FIM-CISL) recently predicted that Italy’s annual car production would fall below 500,000 units this year, the lowest since 1958.
A union source indicated that Stellantis may halt production at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, which produces the electric Fiat 500 city car and two Maserati sports cars.
Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso hosted the meeting in Rome, in the presence of industry and trade union representatives.
Giuseppe Manca, human resources manager of Stellantis Italy, reportedly said: “Stellantis has no intention of closing factories in Italy, just as it has no intention of collective redundancies.”
At the meeting, Urso announced that the government would reconsider plans to cut €4.6 billion ($4.86 billion) in funds for the auto industry between 2025 and 2030.
The decision follows criticism from unions and business groups.
Italy’s largest trade union, CGIL, stated that Rome plans to recover around €200 million by 2025.
Gianluca Ficco of the UILM union expressed disappointment, saying the government had failed to follow through on proposals to restart the car industry agreed at previous meetings.
Ficco said: “In practice, the ministry has stopped talks for almost a year, causing the situation to plummet.”
“Stellantis says ‘no factory closures or mass job cuts in Italy’ – report” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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