The blockades of hauliers have pushed several companies in the country to slow down or stop production. Stellantis is one of them. In fact, it ordered a four-shift stop at the Atessa plant, in Abruzzo, due to delays in component deliveries.
The company has made it known that it will recover the stoppage of the third shift on October 21st, while the new stoppages will require redundancy.
New stops in Stellantis
New stops to Stellantis production. In fact, the protest by the hauliers does not allow the delivery of various components necessary for the Atessa plant, in the province of Chieti. This is the fourth round of stoppage after the previous ones.
The company has communicated to the executive committee of Fim and Uilm its intention to apply various closures: in total the second and third shift, the first shift and the central shift on 22 October, excluding the Ckd and Finishing departments.
While some shifts from previous days that were blocked will be recovered, the new ones will face redundancy.
What do hauliers have to do with it?
The first stop on Monday 19 October was caused by the shortage of components caused by the logistics blockades which took part in the protests of the hauliers. Without the necessary material for the production lines, the stops were necessary.
The first consequences were recorded on Monday 19th, with Stellantis being forced to stop production and a first announcement regarding how the lost working day would be made up.
However, the situation was not resolved in the following hours and days, on the contrary it worsened. So a further suspension was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Day after day the shutdowns were announced, until the plant remained blocked for the entire week.
The Stellantis problem
According to the analysis of Milan Financethe Atessa plant is one of Stellantis’ main European production centers for light commercial vehicles. In fact, its lines produce models such as Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, Citroën Jumper and Opel Movano, destined for European and international markets.
The suspensions, made necessary due to the absence of supplies, demonstrate how much automotive production depends on good logistics. The interruption of the flow of even a single component blocks the entire assembly line, with consequences on production and also on the work plan.
How long will the lockdowns continue?
It is difficult to say how long the lockdowns will continue. The Council of Ministers approved the decree-law with urgent provisions and support measures for the sectors. The Prime Minister claimed immediate responses, but also reported that in some areas various subjects continue to block the roads.
Various entities, such as Trasportounito and the sector acronyms in Calabria, have suspended protests against expensive diesel and therefore food deliveries to shops and supermarkets are resuming. The hauliers of the Sicilian Road Transport Companies Association also decided to suspend the protest.
Those who are not aligning themselves are facing identification and denunciations. Piantedosi confirmed that prefects and police headquarters are monitoring the ongoing blockade situations and looking for any “criminal infiltration”.
