Sportiva-Italia

[Sportiva-Italia]

Bron: Italiaspeed.com

Fiat personeel vecht terug
24-12-2009

Naar aanleiding van Sergio Machionne's plannen om in het personeel te snijden, vecht het personeel van de meest getroffen fabrieken, Termini Imerese (nu nog in gebruik voor de lancia Ypsilon) en Pomigliano d'Arco (Alfa 147, Alfa 159 en Alfa GT), terug, totdat Machionne duidelijk maakt waarom er bezuinigd wordt, terwijl hij de produktie van auto's juist op wil voeren. Het personeel van de Termini Imnerese fabriek heeft het werk eerder neergelegd dan normaal het geval is. Tussen Kerst en 7 Januari zou er al niet gewerkt worden, maar als protest hebben ze het werk eerder neergelegd. Het personeel van de Alfa fabriek, waar vanaf 2011 de Panda gebouwd gaat worden, heeft zich aan het gemeentehuis vastgeketend en kruispunten geblokkeerd:

Workers from Pomigliano d'Arco chaining themselves to the city hall and a walkout at Termini Imerese: the aftermath of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's presentation of a new two year (2010-2011) industrial plan to the Italian central government, regional governments and unions, has seen Fiat employees sparking off direct action in the bitter fight to save their jobs. With Marchionne confirming that he sees loss-making Termini Imerese as unsustainable in the future, and the workers at the Alfa Romeo plant near Naples facing more temporary layoffs if the plant tools up to build the Panda from 2011, the battle lines have been drawn at these two factories. Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola yesterday on the TG5 television channel announced that he has called an urgent meeting next month to discuss the future options for the Termini Imerese factory after Marchionne stuck to Fiat's already announced plans to close the plant, when current-generation Lancia Ypsilon build ends in 2011, when he detailed his new production plan on Tuesday. Marchionne however to raise Italian vehicle production from the current 650,000 units to between 850,000 and one million units a year after sizeable investments. The Italian government has been holding off extending state-sponsored incentive schemes until he outlined his plans for Italy.



Workers at the Termini Imerese factory at Palermo, which currently builds around 60,000 units of the Lancia Ypsilon a year, staged a lighting two-day strike on 22-23 December organised by the Fim Fiom and Uilm unions as the workers continue the fight for their future, the walkout coming just prior to a scheduled Christmas shutdown which runs from today until 7 January. A special train that had taken 400 workers to Rome for the presentation then moved onto Termini Imerese. The railway tracks were temporarily blocked at Messina before a union delegation moved onto the plant which had already stopped working. Meanwhile, workers from Pomigliano d'Arco, who build the Alfa 147, 159 and GT Coupé and who already have only been working around seven days every month for the last year, chained themselves to the city hall and blocked some entrances to the city as they digested how the news from the special presentation would affect them.

Meanwhile on the political front, PDL-Sicilia has announced the launch of a new campaign to collect signatures to protest against the decision of Fiat to abandon Termini Imerese. In his presentation Marchionne however said that Fiat would be happy to make the factory available for other uses. "Take the money and run, this is the true mission of the industrial group Fiat; it would be good to add this postscript to the industrial plan," said Sicilian Regional Assembly leader, Giulia Adamo. Termini Imerese lies right in the middle of one of Italy's worst unemployment black spots and around 2,500 people are employed directly or indirectly in the production of cars there.

[Sportiva-Italia]

Afgelopen Zondag kregen de werknemers een hart onder de riem gestoken door Paus Benedictus XVI, die benadrukte dat in deze moeilijke tijden iedereen verantwoordelijk is om samen de crisis te bestrijden en dat er alles aan gedaan moet worden om banen te behouden en te zorgen dat het personeel goed begeleid wordt naar een eventuele nieuwe baan:

Workers at Fiat's beleaguered Termini Imerese plant received a boost on Sunday when Pope Benedict XVI called on all parties to protect jobs at the Sicilian production site, the pontiff referring to the factory which is set to be shuttered next year.
"The economic crisis is causing the loss of many jobs and this calls for a huge sense of responsibility by everyone, entrepreneurs, workers [and] governing officials," the Pontiff said after he had finished his weekly midday Angelus blessing to the faithful in St. Peter's Square, an address that was broadcast on Italian TV. "I think of some difficult situations in Italy, like, for example, Termini Imerese and Portovesme. Do everything possible to protect and spur job growth, assuring dignified and adequate work to sustain families." The pope's words endorsed the Italian Episcopal Conference's appeal: "that everything possible be done to protect and increase employment, assuring families of dignified work and adequate support. While Termini Imerese is set to close when production of the current-generation B-segment Lancia Ypsilon runs out, the Pope also mentioned by name the Portovesme plant on the south coast of the island of Sardinia, one of two Italian sites that American aluminium giant Alcoa intends to shut down at some point this year. In recent days the Italian government has asked Alcoa to reconsider its decision and some Alcoa workers held up a banner as the pope addressed the faithful.



The pope's appeal to business leaders and government came as a huge boost to the unions that are on the back foot as Fiat determinedly presses on with plans to close the island site. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it clear that the carmaker doesn't see social responsibility as part of its remit, making a clear switch away from previous policies, in particular those championed by former Fiat Chairman Gianni Agnelli who always saw social matters as a core factor. "The pope's appeal must not fall by the wayside," Luigi Angeletti, the secretary-general of the UIL union, told Reuters yesterday while union leaders told ANSA that they were "moved and overjoyed" when they heard the pope's words on television. Meanwhile production of the Ypsilon resumed at Termini Imerese today after Fiat had suspended activities at the plant last week due to protests that saw workers occupying a rooftop. Around 1,400 workers will lose their jobs when the plant closes down. On Friday Italian Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola said that the government had received seven expressions of interest in the factory, including one that aims to build the Indo-US Reva electric car at the plant which previously built the Fiat Grande Punto and first-generation Panda.

[Sportiva-Italia]

Het personeel van de Fiat fabrieken heeft afgeloepn woensdag vier uren lang het werk stilgelegd in verband met een staking, aangezien Machinne niet van plan is nog langer sociaal te zijn, want de kosten om de Termini Imerese fabriek zijn te hoog om rendabel te kunnen zijn:

On Wednesday Fiat was hit by a four-hour strike that halted vehicle production across its six Italian factories as the bitter fight to save the threatened Termini Imerese plant in Sicily continues to ratchet up. The increasingly bitter battle over the Sicilian factory’s future sees Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne and the carmaker's senior management including Group Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and Group Vice-Chairman John Elkann, pitted up against national and regional government and the firm's unions, while on Sunday no lesser authorities figure than Pope Benedict XVI in a public address called for the threatened jobs of workers at Termini Imerese to be safeguarded.
Marchionne is adamant the plant will be closed when production of the current-generation Lancia Ypsilon runs out in less than a year’s time. The smallest of Fiat’s Italian plants with around 1,400 staff, it has no local supplier base meaning components have to be shipped or flown onto the island before the assembled cars are shipped back to the mainland, adding, Fiat claims, an additional 1,000 euros per car to the build price.



However Termini Imerese is located in one of Italy’s worst unemployment black spots and closing the plant, which indirectly employs an additional 1,500 workers local, would cause much local hardship. Unions are angry that Fiat, has chosen to break away from its long tradition of social responsibility, a new strategy outlined by Marchionne in a speech in Rome just before Christmas, especially so as the carmaker is one of the main beneficiaries of generous state subsidies. The unions want the continuation of subsidies to be linked to Termini Imerese's future. The pressure went up a notch yesterday as Economy Minister Claudio Scajola was reported by the AFP news agency as saying that the government was "evaluating" stopping all incentives, including those in the automotive sector which Fiat has said are vital to it making a profit this year. Last Friday Scajola chaired the first meeting of a special taskforce set up to look at the threatened plant's future, revealing that seven expressions of interest had been received. That government-chaired taskforce will meet again later today. Scajola, who has been outspoken in his preference to see the beleaguered plant remain within the Fiat Group, said yesterday in response to the strike as it gripped Fiat's production: "Fiat clearly needs to overhaul its plants; however, the government believes there is is still room for Termini Imerese plant."
CGIL trade union secretary Guglielmo Epifani said yesterday that the Fiat's workers' four-hour strike "is going well". Epifani also added that "in the days to come we will engage in further talks," saying that in the immediate future negotiating priorities would focus around Termini Imerese as well as Alfa Romeo's Pomigliano d'Arco factory near Naples that currently builds the Alfa 147, 159, 159 Sportwagon and GT Coupé. "Termini Imerese should not be shut down. There is no overcapacity in Italy," Gianni Rinaldini, the leader of the powerful Fiom union told the Ansa news agency. Fiat said yesterday that 14 percent of the workforce took part in strike action while union sources said it involved 80 percent of workers at Termini Imerese and 50 to 70 percent at the Mirafiori plant in Turin.

As well as Fiat's plan to close Termini Imerese, U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa has hit the headlines as it intends to shut a factory which is located on the southern coast of Sardinia. This plant was also mentioned by the Pontiff last Sunday alongside Termini Imerese in his address to the faithful. Following Tuesday's government-chaired roundtable on Alcoa's Italian operations, Scajola warned the US Pennsylvania-headquartered firm yesterday that "they will face due consequences should they opt to pursue with their unwarranted course of action". Alcoa, he added, "is warned that the government will not stand for any unilateral decisions."

[Sportiva-Italia]

Update 05-02-2010:

With the Italian government hinting this week that it might drop stimulus packages for the automotive sector Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne has said in a statement today that he would "fully support" any decision to withdraw eco-incentives.
This represents a change of direction for Fiat which has previously called for the continuation of incentives for buying new vehicles, but said in its full year 2009 financial report last month that even if these subsidies are withdrawn the carmaker will be able to post a profit this year. Yesterday Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he was unsure where Fiat stood on the issue. In an interview he said the government was prepared to "to give a hand" with a continuation of the eco-incentives but added that "Fiat does not seem interested in having them."



The new stance on incentives comes as Fiat is locked into a battle with the national and local government and its unions over the future of the threatened Termini Imerese factory in Sicily, and follows on from a national strike on Wednesday at its domestic factories while a two-week Italy-wide shutdown is set for the end of this month.
"In relation to the eco-incentives, I want to emphasize that we would fully support any decision by the Italian government not to renew them," read a statement issued by Fiat Group in Turin and attributed to Marchionne. "In Italy, as in other European countries, such incentives stimulated demand during 2009, but they also had the effect of bringing forward purchases which consumers would, in any event, have made in subsequent years. Renewing those incentives would only serve to defer the underlying problem to a future date. As stated last week, when the Group communicated its official outlook for 2010, Fiat is capable of managing the situation from both a financial and industrial point of view, even under the most pessimistic scenario. But rather than a temporary stimulation of demand, what is needed now is a serious and committed industrial policy aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the auto industry, a sector which governments worldwide consider vital to their economies."

[Sportiva-Italia]

Update 06-02-2010:

Fiat has continued to signal its intent that it will not deviate from shutting Termini Imerese with Luca di Montezemolo applying the pressure by stating yesterday that the carmaker hasn't received "one euro" in state aid since he became Group Chairman nearly six years ago. Fiat also indicated at a meeting on the plant's future yesterday that half the workforce are eligible for early retirement.



"Since I have been at Fiat we have not received one euro from the state," Montezemolo, who became Chairman Fiat in May 2004, told the Ansa news agency. Fiat's rebuttal of claims that it has received state aid comes as unions pressure the government to link a continuation of the 'eco-incentives' due to run out next month, to the survival of Termini Imerese. Pope Benedict XVI also weighed into the debate last weekend, imploring government and business leaders to ensure the worker's jobs are safeguarded. Yesterday in a statement Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said he would "fully support" the ending of eco-incentives, while Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said that Fiat didn't seem to be interested in their continuation.
However secretary general of the Cisl labour union Raffaele Bonanni told Ansa yesterday that: "Fiat has always enjoyed state aid to set up production in Italy, and all Italians know it," while Roberto Calderoli, the government minister responsible for legislative simplification, said Fiat was "a company that our fathers considered a state company precisely because of the state intervention it received over the years," Ansa reported. Later Montezemolo clarified his comments, saying that government funding "are aids to consumption and not money given to companies."

Last week the government said it had received seven expressions of interest in Termini Imerese, and yesterday a second meeting on the Sicilian plant's future was held in Rome. Fiat, which says it loses 1,000 euros per car built at Termini Imerese due to the island location and lack of an integrated local supplier base, has said it would be prepared give the plant away to an interested party with a viable plan. "I’ve heard all sorts of proposals, from the Chinese buying the plant, to turning Termini into an Ikea store,” Raffaele Lombardo, head of the regional government in Sicily, told AFP yesterday, adding: "We’re not giving up on Fiat continuing to make cars in Sicily, we hope the company changes its mind."

Fiat added further to the pressure yesterday by saying that 806 staff, half the workforce, would be eligible for early retirement. Meanwhile Fiat received support yesterday from Emma Marcegalia, the president of Italy's employers association, who was reported by AFP as saying that "there are no incentives that hold" for factories that are not profitable.

[Sportiva-Italia]

Update 09-02-2010:

Sergio Machionne lijkt zijn gelijk te krijgen voor wat betreft de geplande sluiting van de fabriek. Ondertussen wordt er naarstig gezocht naar investeerders:

Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne appears to have won his hard-fought battle to close Termini Imerese with an Italian government minister being quoted yesterday as saying that alternatives uses for the plant were now being looked at once production of the current-generation Lancia Ypsilon runs out in a year's time. In a tough recent battle of words Marchionne has been pitted against regional and national government, the carmaker's unions which called a nationwide strike last week, and other figures including Pope Benedict XVI.
Fiat is no longer interested in Termini Imerese," Economy Minister Claudio Scajola said yesterday in and interview with Canale 5. "We have a year and a half before Fiat stops its production in Termini." For Scajola it represents a major climb down, previously he had opposed Fiat's plans to end production at the factory, calling the decision "crazy".

Fiat's unions have tried to link the continuation of government 'eco' incentives, due to run out next month, to Termini Imerese's future, but last week Marchionne in a statement said he would accept the removal of these state subsidies. The Pope weighed into the matter a week last Sunday calling for job protection in a region where unemployment is high and the factory provides a real lifeline. Before Christmas in a speech in Rome Marchionne broke the link forged when the Agnelli family were in control that saw Fiat closely tied to social responsibility. In his speech Marchionne argued that Fiat wouldn't be held socially responsible for workers at the plant. Marchionne also stated last Friday that around half the workforce could be liable to early retirement.
Scajola said at the weekend that up to 10 proposals for the beleaguered plant had been received. That is up from seven proposals that he said had been received on January 29. The minister said that the government will choose the bid that supports the retention of most jobs. Currently around 3,000 jobs are directly or indirectly created by the factory which previously built Fiat's Grande Punto, the first-generation Panda, and the 126. The current front-running expression of interest, and the only one to be made public so far, is that of Sicilian investor Simone Cimino, the Chairman of Cimino & Associates Private Equity, who hopes to build an electric car under licence from Bangalore, India-based Reva Electric Car Co. at the factory. He is targeting building 30,000 units a year to reach break-even. Cimino told Financial Times today that he needs a minimum of 65 million euros to kick the project off and has so far secured 50 million euros from regional government sources and French bank Naxtis. Investment could eventually top 900 million euros. According to FT he will modernise the factory, retain Fiat's workforce, and sell the electric cars for 16,000-17,000 euros, in particular to be used by tourists on the island.

[Sportiva-Italia]

Update 11-02-2010

De italiaanse regering heeft aangekondigd geen subsidie meer te geven op de aankoop van 'groene' auto's. Machionne had eerder al gezegd achter de beslissing te staan, hoewel hij toegaf dat het ook wel jammer was:

The Italian government has announced that it is to end its raft of 'eco' incentives to encourage consumers to buy new cars, with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne responding by saying that he agreed with the decision despite the impact that it is expected to have on domestic new car sales. Marchionne added in his comments yesterday that he expected 350,000 fewer cars to be sold in Italy this year a result of the withdrawal of the incentives. Fiat, which takes a third of all domestic car sales, has been the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme. Until last week Marchionne has called for the continuation of the incentives and their gradual withdrawal, stating in Fiat’s annual report last month that without them this year’s profits would be flat. However with the company's unions pushing for any continuation of incentives to be linked to the future of the closure-targeted Termini Imerese factory, Marchionne performed a U-turn last week and said he would accept their withdrawal. Last month Italian new car sales rose 30.22 percent, but ominously forward orders dropped 10 percent. In recent days Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has stated that Fiat didn’t seem interested in the continuation of incentives and this week Economy Minister Claudio Scajola admitted that the government had thrown the towel in over getting Fiat to keep open the beleaguered Sicilian factory and would now choose the best option for saving jobs out of the ten expressions of interest he says have been received. With the 'carrot' of consumer incentives off the table Fiat is free to press ahead with plans to close the plant once production of the current-generation Lancia Ypsilon runs out next year, although Italian media commentators have been quick to comment that Marchionne has paid a very high price to get his way to be rid of what is the smallest and least-profitable of Fiat’s six domestic car plants.

Responding to the announcement by Scajola that auto incentives, except for R&D assistance, would be withdrawn, Marchionne said yesterday: "We agree with the decision; we understand the reasons behind it", reported the AGI news agency. His comments were made to journalists on the sidelines of the Confindustria Awards for Excellence Andrea Pininfarina 2010. The Ansa news agency meanwhile reported Marchionne as saying that he believes that Italian car sales will shrink this year by 350,000 units but added that – apart from Termini Imerese - no other factories are under threat of closure. He did say though that more workers could be laid off under the government’s temporary redundancy scheme. However Marchionne was pretty upbeat saying that the government's decision was a "shared solution" and something he could accept.
Fiat is the biggest beneficiary of the incentives, two of the top-three best-selling LPG cars in Italy last month came from Fiat Automobiles and two further Lancia models made it four representatives from Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) in the top-ten while amongst methane-powered cars Fiat had a clean sweep of the top-four positions during January. The Italian government has given generous incentives for LPG and Methane-powered cars. The immediate loser from FGA will be the Lancia brand which has seen its stunning volume rise last year firmly grounded by the sale of LPG models, in fact almost half of its sales volumes in Italy last month comprised the LPG versions of the Ypsilon and Musa combined together.l

[Sportiva-Italia]

Update 24-02-2010:

Doordat Machionne de regering steunt in het besluit minder subsidie te geven aan Fiat, zal er minder werk zijn en gaat de fabriek een paar weken dicht. Daarnaast zal er mogelijk later nog een tijdelijke sluiting volgen, waarbij dan het administratieve personeel een tijdje thuis moet blijven. Het personeel krijgt wel doorbetaald, maar wel gereduceerd:

As Fiat swings into a two-week shutdown of its Italian plants as a result of slowing domestic demand for its cars it has announced that there will be further temporary lay-offs in March and April. With the reduction and phasing out of automotive sector incentives across Europe as the world emerges from the recession and governments reign back stimulus packages, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has predicted that 350,000 fewer cars will be sold in Italy as a result of the withdrawal of the generous government handouts. Fiat, which takes almost a third of all domestic car sales, has been the biggest beneficiaries of the 'eco-incentive' scheme. Until the beginning of the month Marchionne has called for the continuation of the incentives before their gradual withdrawal, stating in Fiat’s annual report last month that without them this year’s profits would be flat. However as the future of these incentives began to be linked to the survival of the Termini Imerese factory he performed a U-turn and said he would accept their withdrawal.
The two-week layoff, to balance out the recent slowdown in orders, that affects all Italian car factories including the Fiat-PSA Peugeot Citroën light commercial vehicle joint venture will run until the end of next week. The workers will be paid at a reduced rate during the shutdown with money drawn from the Italian government's temporary layoff fund.



However yesterday it was reported that the Fiat lay-off schemes will then extend into March and April, this time affecting administrative staff. These stoppages will be over two, separate one-week periods and will get underway on March 22-28 when 1,200 office workers will be laid off, before a further 2,400 office staff stop work during the week of April 5-11. At the same time as the first batch of Fiat office staff are absent from their workplaces, 400 office workers at Fiat Powertrain Technologies will also be laid off for that week while 800 more staff from the powertrain division will also be sent home on the week of April 5-11. Finally staff in the purchasing department will also be affected over these two periods with 100 stopping work March 22-28 and 400 during the week of April 5-11. Meanwhile the bitter fight over Termini Imerese's future has spilled onto the football pitch, with Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli saying that the Sicilian side will be thinking of the workers at Termini Imerese whose jobs are threatened when they face Serie A rivals Juventus this weekend. The Juventus football club is owned by the Agnelli family; they are also the largest shareholders in Fiat Group. "Our commitment has never been absent all season and will certainly not be now,” Miccoli told the ANSA news agency yesterday. "But this time we will have extra motivation after the workers of Termini asked us to win for them. Whatever the outcome on the field, we will give everything we have," he continued, adding that: "as a team and as a society we are their neighbours and there are people who spend a lifetime in those factories, who have families and children to feed."