No, it wasn't the bonus to reawaken the White sector – it could do so if it is renewed at the beginning of the year – but the first signs of a recovery are starting to be felt. With some unexpected, very positive news that concerns Electrolux: The redundancy fund has disappeared from all Italian factories. In just a few months,, and the lines of the Swedish giant are back to running at full speed.
Hiring and orders
“There are hirings and new fixed-term contracts – he declares FIRST online Augustine Breda, of the Electrolux Italia RSU – the first to emerge from layoffs was the cooking plant in Forlì, four months ago, followed by the dishwasher plant in Solaro, and even, a month ago, the washing machine plant in Porcia, which has long suffered from stiff competition from low-priced imported products. And where a contract for an innovative washing machine has landed, leading to hiring closures. As for the high-end built-in refrigerator factory, he has never been on redundancy pay, the demand has always been there“. Some of the group's fixed-term hires have also been converted into permanent hires.
Production also resumes
A confirmation of this trend, still patchy for the sector, comes from Applia Italia according to which the production of Italian household appliance factories recorded a +5% in the first nine months of the year compared to 2024A surge that could have been fueled, even in part, by the bonus? "No," Breda replies, "because the incentives only recently started. And also because they mostly sold entry-level appliances, especially sought after by low-income families. And Italian factories are now producing medium-high and high-end appliances."
Waiting for the next bonus
Incidentally, a portion of the requests for the bonus did not translate – many retailers have pointed out – into actual purchases because the vouchers assigned they expire after 15 days if not usedIt seems that it is reopening opportunities for those on the waiting list, to use unspent funds thanks to the scrolling of the rankings, allowing those who had not received the bonus to obtain it, since funds and resources become available again.
Whirlpool, Bitzer cuts heads again
But if in Italy and Europe, something is moving in a positive direction in the household appliances market, in America it seems that everything is at a standstill.. And then heads roll. La Whirlpool is less and less a multinational, indeed, with the semi-withdrawal from India as well, it is now reduced to the borders of North America and Latin America. Trump's incentives in the form of robust tariffs have not worked. Indeed, the prolonged negative results have caused sensational oustings at the top.
Marc Bitzer, CEO of the group, has announced that he will replace James Peters, CFO and Vice President (the number two at Whirlpool), starting in January 2026. And he has decided that the Italian Alessandro Perrucchetti, executive vice president and president of Whirlpool North America, he'll leave at the end of the yearBitzer has also decided on further cuts at the top of the company. Ever more powerful, ever more entrenched in the dual role of CEO and president, Bitzer is actually defending his position while the shares are recording a significant drop in price over the past year, from a high of $135,49 a share to a recent close of $68,44.
Retail stocks cleared
On the repetition of the household appliances bonus as well as Aires and Applia Italia, respectively the retailers' and industries' associations, have proposed it in full agreement and there seems to be a cross-party consensus. Everyone is asking for the the measure be renewed as soon as possible and become stable for at least two yearsBecause—they all repeat—the funding was truly meager, less than 50 million euros. And what's encouraging is the fact that it allowed the distribution network to clear out leftovers and warehouse stocks, after three years of stagnant sales.
Now the European bonus
“Another positive aspect was the fact that it brought customers into the stores who otherwise would not have decided to purchase – he claims Davide Rossi, General Manager Aires, recently appointed to the board of Eurocommerce, the European retail forum – and the customers who were finally able to discover the many innovations that have been introduced in the most recent models. And precisely because of the success of the Italian initiative, as well as the positive results of a similar measure in Portugal – which I presented at the very recent Eurocommerce general assembly held in Brussels, the proposal to adopt the Italian bonus on a European scale“- Which, it should not be forgotten, only concerns the made in Europe factories that could finally have a consistent return from a re-edition of the initiative since the chains and groups that have disposed of the unsold products that filled their warehouses, now they will have to replenish their stocks"And this, together with a refinancing of incentives," Rossi emphasizes, "could help bring customers through the most critical period, the first few months of the year."
