Stellantis, unions agree on layoffs, hiring at Italy’s Atessa plant

MILAN, March 29 (Reuters) – Italian metalworkers unions said on Wednesday they had reached an agreement with Stellantis (STLAM.MI) for up to 120 layoffs through voluntary redundancies at the group’s Atessa van-making plant in the central Abruzzo region.

The workers laid off will all be no more than five years away from retirement age, the unions said in a joint statement.

They will receive 90% of their salary in the first two years and 70% in the remaining three years before reaching the pensionable age, thanks to state benefits and those paid by the company.

As part of the agreement, the automaker will permanently hire 40 people among those currently working at the Atessa plant under job-leasing contracts, while some 1,000 workers will be given training to acquire skills needed for the energy transition.

The deal will be signed in the next few weeks at Italy’s Labour Ministry, the unions said.

With around 5,000 workers and an annual production capacity of more than 300,000 units, the Atessa factory is the largest van making plant in Europe.

Stellantis was not immediately available for comment.

Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Gavin Jones