Stellantis Labor and Management Agree on 714 Layoffs Through Voluntary Retirement

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Stellantis labor and management have agreed to reduce 714 employees in Italy this year through voluntary retirement, according to major foreign media reports on the 3rd (local time).

Stellantis previously reached a similar labor-management agreement in France. In France, labor and management agreed to reduce 2,600 employees over two years through voluntary retirement.

Stellantis was launched in January last year through the merger of the French automobile companies Peugeot Citro?n and the Italian automobile company Fiat Chrysler.

Last year, Stellantis labor and management also agreed on reductions through voluntary retirement, but there were not many applicants. Therefore, they agreed again this year on reductions through voluntary retirement.

As the era of electric vehicles arrives, voices calling for automobile companies to reduce their workforce are growing. This is because fewer personnel are needed compared to when producing internal combustion engine vehicles.

The three major Italian metal unions, FIM, FIOM, and UILM, issued a joint statement on the day, stating that as the automobile industry restructures from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, 73,000 automobile-related jobs could disappear in Italy. The three major unions said that 63,000 of these jobs will disappear between 2025 and 2030 and urged government intervention.

In Italy, the automobile industry directly and indirectly creates employment for 278,000 people. Additionally, the automobile industry accounts for about 6% of Italy's gross domestic product (GDP).

Earlier this week, the Italian government announced that it would present a support plan for the automobile industry within weeks.

According to the unions, automobile production in Italy exceeded 1.8 million units in 1997 but dropped to 700,000 units last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.