Stellantis has announced that it will hire 400 workers at the Mirafiori plant. The news comes following the meeting between the CEO Antonio Filosa and the unions. The hiring plan is included in the second round for the new Fiat 500 hybrid, starting from February. The broader project, Filosa confirms, is solid. On the Termoli site, however, the decision should arrive by the end of the year.
Filosa tries to reassure the unions after nine months of production in decline by 31.5%. Stellantis made it known that Italy is central, but must be considered within a critical context. According to Filosa, Mirafiori’s hires, which are added to those already made in recent months in the engineering sector and in Atessa, are all they could do considering the situation. In the meantime, the group makes large investments in China and the United States, and Elkann’s response is that if Stellantis is good in the US, it is also good for Italy.
Italy plan: 400 hires in Mirafiori and hybrid cars
The new CEO of Stellantis, Antonio Filosa, arrived in Turin to speak at the first meeting with the unions. The face-to-face meeting should have resolved many of the doubts about the Italian plan, the new hirings and the path towards a return to greater production.
If at the beginning 1 million vehicles were promised by 2030, in the meeting we return to a more realistic plan to increase production, first of all to recover the decline of 31.5% (265,490 vehicles).
Thus, 400 hires are announced in Mirafiori starting from February for the new Fiat 500 hybrid. Among the new launches, the hybrid Fiat 500 and the new Jeep Compass are expected, production of which will begin in the next few weeks in Melfi.
For the Termoli giga-factory, however, some points still need to be clarified. Investment plans are being evaluated, but a decision has not yet been made. The promise is that it will arrive by the end of the year.
Finally, the launch of the new Stelvio and Giulia has been rescheduled at the Cassino factory, to broaden the offering. The project envisaged exclusively electric, but today, with the multi-energy hybrid offer (therefore also hybrid), the aim is to ensure the future of the plant.
What happens to the other plants in Italy?
From the first meeting with the unions a positive signal emerges, a sort of counter-trend compared to the decline in employment in recent years, but there is no shortage of critical issues in the other factories.
In Pomigliano, for example, production of the Dodge Hornet has been stopped for a quarter because no orders are arriving from the United States. The assembly of the Maseratis has been moved to Modena, however.
Similar words come from the general secretariat of Uilm. The new hires at Mirafiori are seen as a good starting point, but a difficult path that depends as much on Stellantis as on “European policies that are destroying the industry without unfortunately saving the environment”.
Stellantis invests billions in the United States
While in Italy the plants are struggling and the Italian plan is, according to Filosa, hindered by European ecological transition policies, Stellantis in the United States invests 13 billion dollars: the largest investment of the group. Filosa himself declares that the US market is the number one priority.
The investments are in iconic brands:
- Jeeps;
- Ram;
- Dodge;
- Chrysler.
The aim is to launch five new products, a new engine and 19 additional products to renew the entire range. “This is because we want to grow here, in the United States,” he comments. He adds that they share with President Trump the goal of returning the United States to having a very strong automotive manufacturing system. Elkann, at the same time, defends the maxi investment in the USA by declaring that it will also have positive repercussions on Italy.
What appears, also through Filosa’s words, is that jobs and factories in the Bel Paese count less, because there is no possibility of growth. The CEO points the finger at European regulations and, not surprisingly, invests in the United States, where Trump has overturned the rules of the ecological transition to favor industrial production. Meanwhile, no new investments are arriving in Italy and only crumbs remain.
