A meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning at the Ministry of Development between the managers of Italiaonline, which last year incorporated Seat-Pagine Gialle, with the trade unions and government representatives to arrive at a definition of the longa dispute of the workers affected by the unstoppable decline of the paper Yellow Pages replaced by the internet. And, moreover, it is clear that the company cannot face the challenge of the new by carrying the entire weight of an obsolete production that no longer finds the interest of consumers.
The decline of Seat – Pagine Gialle is undoubted and unstoppable. Between 2007 and 2015 the turnover went from 1.445 million Euros to just 365 million Euros. Even more impressive was the drop in Ebitda which went from 648 million in 2007 to just 17 million in 2015. A figure that was not sufficient to support investments which either could not face technological innovations or needed fresh cash to be able to finance them.
This dramatic change of scenery has occurred mainly due to thearrival of new digital technologies which have gradually replaced the paper. The company tried to react by offering new products but this evolution was not timely enough to the extent that the continuous worsening of the income statements led the company itself to declare insolvency.
In 2016 Italiaonline took over the old Seat and started a restructuring and launch of new products that appear competitive on a market that in the meantime had been completely monopolized by the international digital giants.
They were years of serious difficulties for all employees. Even the top executives have suffered a reduction in their salaries which in fact fell between 2011 and 2016 from over 8 million to 2,7 million.
now the time has come to make decisions. The opportunities that digital transformations offer can be seized if we focus on investments and if we can hire young "digital natives" perhaps who have graduated from our excellent Polytechnics, who instead if the company fails to take off will not find outlets in this country and they are forced to look beyond the border.
The continuous postponement technique risks making Italian industry lose opportunities and leaves the market completely at the mercy of large international companies.
What is most regrettable is the reduction in top management salaries. Do you know if there is a way to make a collection?
Why not a well-deserved kick towards the exit? If the company is in dire straits, it's all their fault that they didn't notice the changing times or that they reacted like burosaurs with complicated and rigid procedures.