MILAN (Reuters) – Carmaker Stellantis and unions reached an agreement on Tuesday on a planned restructuring of the group’s production in the Italian city of Turin, which will be completed by mid-January, FIM, UILM, FISMIC, UGLM and AQCFR unions said.
Earlier this month Stellantis said it would move the assembly line of its Grugliasco plant, near Turin, to nearby Mirafiori in a bid to increase efficiency.
Production in Grugliasco will stop on Dec. 17 and be moved to Mirafiori, where it will start on Jan. 17, unions said in a joint statement.
It will be concentrated in a single line in Mirafiori for a total of five expected Maserati brand models this year.
All 1,100 workers and functions in Grugliasco will move to Mirafiori by 2024 with no overall impact on jobs in the area.
The restructuring mirrors what Stellantis announced earlier this year for Melfi, its largest plant in Italy, as production in the county is under scrutiny for costing more than elsewhere in Europe since the group was formed at the beginning of this year through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA.
Melfi’s two existing lines for Jeep and Fiat models, including hybrid ones, will be merged in a single enhanced one, without losing capacity or jobs.
Mirafiori will keep its other line, where currently produces the electric version of the 500 Fiat small car.
Unions said that, starting from January, Stellantis will double working shifts on this line, to boost production of BEV 500, one of the group’s best selling EV models in Europe.
Stellantis declined to comment.
However, in a sign that tensions could rise in the future, leftist FIOM, one of Italy’s major metal mechanic union, did not sign the agreement, saying Stellantis failed to present a general plan for Italy with new investments and productions to fill existing capacity.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
