Enough with the turbo financemanufacturing is back in fashion. “Industrial policy – exults Giorgio Squinzi in front of the Confindustria audience – has returned to the center”. Professor Berthaperhaps he liquidated too soon the animal spirits of our own capitalism.
"Hand. I appreciate the spirit of Squinzi's words, but I don't believe that the company, unlike half a century ago, can drive the country's widespread growth. Suffice it to mention the Whirlpool case. We are facing an important investment, 500 million to create a leading plant in Europe, but also an overall loss of 2.000 jobs in Italy. Industry has lost the ability to drive social growth. After the war, the incidence and role of industry were very different. Today this applies to specific areas, for example the impact of Luxottica on an area of the Veneto region. Or investments for Alfa in Melfi. It's not by chance that Matteo Renzi chose to go there instead of at the Expo for Confindustria”.
Talk like this Joseph Bertha, professor of contemporary history at Bocconi, tireless researcher traveling around companies with the aim of following the change in Italy's factories, the title of his illuminating essay on production that changes in the manufacturing 2.0 era. He has dedicated a good part of his career, also as director of the Fiat historical archive, to the history and evolution of the Turin group, from its origins to the Marchionne cyclone whose novelty in leadership he was one of the first to intuit. In short, the most suitable person to attempt a snapshot of the situation seen from the side of industry. Or rather, of the industries because between Fiat Chrysler and the Confederation of Industrialists, the strategies remain distant, despite the certificates of mutual esteem between Squinzi and Marchionne.
FIRSTonline – In addition to talking about Melfi, however, today it is a must to mention Volkswagen's investment in the Lamborghini SUV. Is this a turning point in relations between multinationals and Italy?
BERTHA - "We'll see. I don't think it is appropriate to exaggerate the scope of an investment that is however generously financed”.
FIRSTONLINE – The fact remains that Fiom said yes this time. And Maurizio Landini opposed German-style bargaining to our local employers' myopia.
BERTA – “Landini said yes in a situation in which he controls 17 trade unions out of 18. It was an obligatory move for a largely majority union. Had he been in the minority, without running the risk of blowing up the investment, he would have said no. I would also like to point out that in Volkswagen there is a corporate contract, not the totem of the national contract".
FIRSTonline – But Squinzi, in view of the contractual season, does not repudiate national bargaining.
BERTA – “I think the president of Confindustria does not want to put Susanna Camusso in further difficulty. Also because, in my opinion, you suspect that the crisis of the CGIL would end up putting Confindustria in crisis as well. And I think that's a well-founded fear. However, I found Squinzi's report weak. He had the courage to mention the representation agreement which, two years after it was signed, has never taken off ”.
FIRSTonline – The feeling is that some titles die hard. But will it always be like this?
BERTA – “No, I think the situation is rapidly evolving. The Italian problems will be one of the chapters of a now evident European malaise. Let's think only of the last week: the speech of Queen Elizabeth, with open criticism of the relationship with the EU, the Greek crisis, the success of Podemos in Spain. The anti-euro forces control 35-40% of the votes. Limiting yourself to managing the situation by looking only at the past risks being suicidal".
FIRSTonline – Who looks to the future, perhaps too much, is Marchionne. How do you judge his analysis of the car market? Starting with 'Auto, the diary of a capital addict' which raised criticism and irony in the Anglo-Saxon media.
BERTA – “I greatly appreciated the slides of that presentation, very illuminating on the state of the car industry which, it is true, continues to burn capital. With one notable exception: Toyota. Then the controversy broke out. Very funny actually."
FIRSTonline – What is that?
BERTA – “It all began with Max Warburton, appreciated and very valid analyst of Bernstein. It was he who said to Marchionne: but why does he say these things, ie the need for aggregations in the automotive world, to us and not to his colleagues? Because it is you analysts, was the answer, who must advise investors in the best way. But then Warburton struck a masterful blow: In 2009, he said, my opinion was that a merger between GM and Chrysler was needed. Then you arrived, Sergio”.
FIRSTonline – And Marchionne?
BERTA – “He said I love you Max. And he went away”.
FIRSTonline – The amusing episode raises the suspicion that Marchionne's popularity is declining in the USA. This is demonstrated among other things by the difficulties with the authorities who protect the safety of vehicles. Is that it?
BERTA – “It's the fate of Marchionne: his popularity grows in Italy, where he takes a sacred revenge after years of unjust criticism, it tarnishes in the USA. It is the doom of the global economy, whose cycles are very difficult to master. Sales improve in Europe, but decline in Brazil. And for the first time the group marks a decline, albeit slight, in sales”.
FITRSTonline – But are weddings possible?
BERTA – “They seem difficult to me even if the CEO of Fiat Chrysler is right when he claims that no one, including the Germans, has the means to face the investments that the car of the future will require, starting with electronics. It is easy to predict that the Big names of the new economy will soon arrive on the scene, starting with Apple and Google. It is said that they will be successful, even to see the difficulties of the Google Glass and the Apple Watch”.
FIRSTonline – Will they, Google and Apple be FCA's partners?
BERTHA - "I don't think so. If these groups were interested in Fiat Chrysler they could buy it with a quarter or two's profits. With all due respect to Marchionne”.
