MILAN, (Reuters) – Italian unions have called a one day strike on Oct. 18 for metal workers at Stellantis and its local suppliers to protest against the automaker’s falling production in the country, the head of the UILM union said on Tuesday.
Most Stellantis plants in Italy saw a steep output decline in the first half of the year, according to data from the FIM-CISL union, with an overall 25% decline.
That union now expects Stellantis to produce just over half a million vehicles in Italy this year, versus 751,000 in 2023.
“The situation is bad, very bad,” UILM’s Rocco Palombella said at a press conference with the leaders of FIOM and FIM-CISL, the two other main metalworkers unions in Italy.
Operations at Stellantis’ Italian facilities have been repeatedly halted in recent months mainly due to poor market demand, especially for electric vehicles, with workers put on furlough schemes, partly funded by public money.
The group has been in talks for months with the Italian government over a plan to increase output in the country back to one million vehicles by the end of this decade, but there has been no agreement so far.
In the meantime, Rome has also started talks with Chinese automakers to attract new manufacturers to join Stellantis, Italy’s sole major automaker.
Palombella said unions had doubts about the government’s strategy to attract a new automaker while asking Stellantis to increase its output, amid weak market demand.
He also criticised an auto purchase incentive scheme launched by the government earlier this year.
“The scheme did not work,” Palombella said.
Stellantis is also facing a potential strike from the United Auto Workers union in the United States, which accuses the group of breaking contract promises.
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Mark Potter
