Essilor Luxottica has signed a agreement with the unions on a model of short week which, starting January 1, 2026, will involve an entire Italian production site. The agreement was signed in Agordo (Belluno) with the national secretariats, national coordinators, and trade union coordination of Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl, and Uiltec-Uil.
Essilux reaches agreement with unions on shortened workweeks: details
The new agreement represents an evolution of the short-week work organisation model, successfully introduced more than two years ago by the 2024-2026 company supplementary agreement, which provided for 20 additional days off per year, mainly on Fridays, with the same salary. The goal now is to extend the model for the first time to an entire production site, starting January 1, 2026, allowing all staff to benefit from 20 weeks of four working days without no reduction remunerative.
The productive, personal and environmental benefits
According to the official note from Essilux, the adoption of the model should lead to a improving employees' work-life balance and quality of the individual contribution, in a production context that focuses on the valorization of Made in Italy, especially in high-end manufacturing where "craftsmanship, the passion that is transmitted to the product and precision are essential".
The short week – the note continues – will allow for greater production efficiency, an optimization of working times and a positive environmental impact, with reduced energy consumption. In this way, the initiative directly links worker well-being to more rational and sustainable production management.
Incentives and pilot projects
The agreement also strengthens the component linked to production excellence in the worker incentive mechanisms and in the calculation of the prize of annual results, with the aim of making the Group's industrial development strategy in the country shared and participatory.
At the same time, the agreement opens the way to pilot projects for the production in Italy of components for wearable devices, creating opportunities for new professions and enabling permanent job placements for workers potentially employed in this innovative sector.
Following the agreement, the company and the unions will start specific technical discussions to define execution times, modalities and operational details by the end of the year, ensuring a structured implementation of the new model.
Comments
According to the CEO of EssilorLuxottica, Francesco MilleriThe new agreement "reflects our constant drive for innovation in all fields: from work organization to production technologies." "We believe," he adds, "in the importance of developing new models that, through different time management, simultaneously promote quality of life and quality of work, leveraging the extraordinary skills already present in our Italian factories and simultaneously fostering the development of new professional skills."
I sindacati They added: "We strongly desired to establish a programmatic agreement with the company regarding production and employment guarantees for the near future at its Italian plants, which we believe have the necessary prerogatives to face the upcoming challenges of competing internationally and ensuring qualified employment, combined with the excellence of Italy's industrial assets, which must continue to strive for the quality standards that have built its good name over time."
