Yesterday morning, Pomigliano suddenly felt like we had gone back years. Back in the days when the Fiat flag was flying over the management building and the Group was in command Sergio Marchionne. Difficult and very tough years not only for a plant passed from Iri to Agnelli, but because the South's ability to make cars was at stake. Inside himself, Marchionne believed it and the facts proved it. If today there is a new storm it is because the assembly lines have not stopped.
It was a weekend full of worry in front of the gates of the “Giambattista Vico” factory in Pomigliano d'Arco. North wind and sun, groups of workers and union delegates, unfurled flags, discussions on the words of Carlos Tavares and on blow and response with the government. Pomigliano is the Group plant that over the years has paid the highest price for the former Fiat production reorganization. Today 4 thousand people work there plus a thousand people traveling from the Cassino and Melfi factories.
The city is mobilizing
Today's game is played on the request for public subsidies for electric vehicles, while the Panda and the Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV are produced here. Tonale's production will stop on Tuesday and this is not a good sign for what may happen in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the municipality of Pomigliano d'Arco, through the mayor Raffaele Russo, He immediately expressed concern about the direction the matter is taking. The establishment was indicated among those where i jobs could be reduced and the consequences on the city and its hinterland would be very serious.
It's strange - it was said yesterday - to hear those statements after Tavares himself judged the progress of the factory positively a couple of weeks ago. We were also discussing with the unions how to find specialized mechanics which are lacking here. Are car sheds no longer attractive? Then the storm hit. Tavares responded harshly to the Meloni executive's attacks: "The government avoids taking responsibility for the fact that if there are no subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, Italian factories are put at risk." There are certainly the risks of a new industrial revolution that must be managed with balance and a sense of words. The manager may have exaggerated, but if we want to keep the sense of the booming nation high, we need to think about jobs and the Government must do its part.
It may be that Stellantis' strike was ready for some time and that attack of Giorgia Meloni to the title of Repubblica (alias John Elkann) “Italy for sale” made him leave much earlier than expected. Meloni regretted? No! The workers know how to judge and are often even wiser than those who represent them. On the squares they remember the long history of the factory between victories and defeats. We go back to memories, to the 2010 referendum against the 20 billion euro "Factory Plan", to the failure of Fiom in Maurizio Landini, to the Cobas, to the left which only later shared everything and to the failure to close of the factory. We started building cars again, the Panda, the Jeep, in a totally different environment from the 80s and 90s. The factory does not benefit from social safety nets and is ready to be renovated again.
A company problem?
From the times of SuperSergio Marchionne in the entire industrial area there remains a sentiment widespread, so whenever, and wherever, we talk about automotive, the antennas are raised here. We have understood correctly - say the unions - although some think that the CEO has communicated badly because the workers should receive a production bonus. No, it's not a trick. The words of a CEO like Tavares make sense: the prospect of producing the electric Panda in Serbia, rather than in Italy. Is Pomigliano out of the game? It's too early to say and a lot will depend not only on the company but on the Government.
However, the Minister's words make sense Adolfo Urso? “If Italian citizens preferred to buy a car produced abroad rather than one made in Italy, the problem is not with the government but with the company,” she said. An out of place distinction, as unfortunately we also hear from many other ministers. With the addition that Urso asked Stellantis to review its policies: "they should do it", he said. But isn't that what the CEO has already announced? Tavares was very clear in proposing a change of strategy that sacrifices the Mirafiori and Pomigliano sites in the absence of the promised public subsidies. He spoke about Chinese competition and future scenarios for thesustainable automotive. Did the Minister not understand? In Pomigliano, however, they understood very well. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a sad weekend.
