The bank broke. After over four hours of discussion al Mimit, summit on the former Ilva closed with a nothing done and with the unions having abandoned the table accusing the government of wanting to "close" Taranto. On the table was the new four-year decarbonisation plan, illustrated by the executive as the decisive step to ferry the largest steel mill in Europe towards green steel. But for End, Fiom e Uilm the project is anything but a relaunch, it is “a disguised dismantling plan”.
The government's plan: four years for green steel
According to the slides presented at the table, the government aims to build a Dri plant (Direct Reduced Iron) in Taranto by 2029, with financial support from the Italian state and the Puglia Region, to enable the production of decarbonized steel. The goal, the document states, is to make Italy "the first European country to produce only green steel."
To ensure the business continuity during the transition, a short-cycle plan is foreseen that redesigns production starting from 15 November 2025. The coking batteries, that is, industrial plants consisting of a series of furnaces that transform coal into coke – the essential fuel for powering the blast furnaces in steel production – will be stopped from 1 January 2026, while the mid-January will startrotation between blast furnaces AFO4 and AFO2, which will remain operational on a rotation basis for approximately twenty days.
In parallel, from November 15 to February 2026, Steelworks of Italy (ADI) will carry out interventions of maintenance and safety on major plants, from blast furnaces to coke gas lines and marine plants, for ensure minimum continuity of businessFrom March, the plan includes further work, “hopefully carried out by the new buyer.”
The redundancy fund rises to 6.000 workers
Is exactly on the employment front that tensions have explodedThe government has confirmed that a lockdown will be in place from November 15th. new phase of extraordinary redundancy fund, which will increase from the current 4.550 workers to 5.700 by the end of the year, and then reach 6.000 by January 2026 with income integration guaranteed by a specific decree.
According to the executive, the measure is necessary to manage the temporary reduction in production volumes and to support the environmental reconversion of the site. But for the unions it is an opposite signal, “a management of decline”, as the USB defines it, which speaks of an “unacceptable project” and accuses the government of “depriving Taranto and the national steel industry of any industrial prospects”.
The unions walk away from the meeting: "A closure plan, not a relaunch plan."
At the end of the comparison, the break is total. “The government has effectively presented a closure plan – he reports Michael DePalma (Fiom) – "Thousands of workers are being laid off, there's no real support for production, nor a credible industrial plan. We will fight this decision with every means possible."
Rocco Palombella (Uilm) doubles down: "They talked about a 'short' plan because the time left before the closure is very short. It is an unacceptable project that condemns Taranto." Ferdinand Ulianus (FIM-CISL) The situation is "dramatic." "We've reached a point of no return; we need clarity. We'll go to the factory to explain to the workers what's happening."
The three acronyms have already announced immediate assemblies in all the group's plants and they do not exclude new mobilizations after the national strike on October 16.
New buyer on the horizon
In the meantime, a new buyer appears. In addition to the two subjects already known, Bedrock Industries e Flacks Group, an new foreign investor has signed a confidentiality agreement (Editor's note) and obtained access to the data room for an initial reconnaissance of Acciaierie d'Italia's assets. According to industry sources cited by Il Sole 24 Ore , new entity could be Qatar Steel, but no confirmation has been received from MIMIT. The ministry speaks only of "a positive meeting" and "further requests for clarification."
The government aims to close the deal with an industrial partner capable of supporting the investments envisaged in the plan, including the construction of the new DRI plant and the strengthening of the site's thermoelectric power plant.
Palazzo Chigi: "Open to dialogue"
In the evening a official note from Palazzo Chigi, which expresses "regret for the interruption of the discussion” and reiterates “the the government's willingness to continue the dialogue on all aspects, including technical ones, of the transition plan."
But the gap remains deepBetween layoffs, closed plants and confidential negotiations with new investors, the former Ilva issue is now entering its most delicate phase: the one in which the promise of green steel risks being transformed, once again, in yet another Italian industrial crisis.
