Electrolux deal at Italy's Mimit cuts exits to 902 and pledges over 100 million in investment

Agreement reached after more than 30 hours of talks

The Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit) said in a note that a new Electrolux industrial plan had been agreed with the company and the trade unions. The talks lasted more than 30 hours, began on 3 November and continued through the night, with the deal reached around 1:15 on 4 November. The agreement still has to go to a referendum among the workers. Minister Adolfo Urso welcomed the outcome in a statement.

“We have reached the goal: an agreement that protects workers and safeguards all Electrolux plants in Italy, with over 100 million euros of investment.”

Investment and job cut targets

The plan provides for more than 100 million euros of investment and output of about 3.2 million units a year by the end of the plan. Against the 1,719 redundancies the company first announced, the new plan sets a maximum of 902 exits. These exits are to be handled only on a voluntary and incentivised basis, supported by social shock absorbers. The Ministry of Labour will be involved in choosing the most suitable shock absorbers, alongside retraining and reskilling courses.

Background to the dispute

Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that the case opened on 11 May, when Electrolux announced 1,450 redundancies, plus the end of fixed-term contracts, and a departure from its Cerreto d'Esi site in the Ancona area. Before the summer, the company had opened a collective dismissal procedure that would have affected nearly 2,000 Italian workers and ended activity at the Cerreto d'Esi plant. The Mimit note refers instead to the 1,719 redundancies initially announced by the company. The talks at the ministry, held over two days, secured further investment in Italy alongside the reduced number of exits.

Site-by-site terms

At Susegana in Treviso, Veneto's economy assessor Massimo Bitonci said the reduction would be 313 workers, 144 of them production workers, rather than the 420 first identified. Production of built-in refrigerators is to settle at about 515,000 units a year there, and investment at the site will reach 18.5 million euros by 2029. In Forlì, the Emilia-Romagna region said 194 people could choose to leave, while 15 million euros of investment is planned over three years. At Porcia, the product range expands with washing machines and washer-dryers on both platforms, and the production prospects of Susegana, Solaro and Forlì are confirmed. At Cerreto d'Esi, output is to be kept in line with current volumes and the average of recent years until a reindustrialisation solution is found for 149 workers.

Susegana (by 2029)18.5

Forlì (over three years)15

Susegana (by 2029)

18.5 million euros

Forlì (over three years)

15 million euros

Data from the article text

Reactions and what remains open

David Grillini, the mayor of Cerreto d'Esi, who took part in the marathon talks, called the deal an important step.

“The agreement represents an important step because it puts at the centre the continuity of work and production activities.”

Grillini added that the real challenge would begin on 5 November, when the town had to turn the deal into a new prospect of work and a future for its families. Michele de Pascale, president of the Emilia-Romagna region, and the regional labour assessor Giovanni Paglia said in a joint note that the workforce reduction remains immediate and must be consolidated at European level and monitored nationally.

“It is not a victory, but we resisted. The credit goes first of all to the workers.”

The Mimit note also presented the deal as the result of the government's battle in Europe for the appliance sector, citing a non-paper backed by France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Slovakia that calls for a European plan. The agreement now goes to a referendum among workers, and the Ministry of Labour is to set up the shock absorbers and training that will accompany the exits.