Stellantis contractor makes 97 redundant

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 6 - Stellantis contractor Trasnova on Friday announced that it was making 97 workers redundant after the Italian-French-American carmaker said it was terminating its contracts with the company as of December 31.
    Of the 97 redundancies, 54 are at the Stellantis plant in Pomigliano d'Arco, near Naples, where Trasnova workers have been blocking the factory's goods inlets for days, effectively bringing production to a standstill.
    The others work at the Stellantis Mirafiori, Piedimonte San Germano and Melfi plants.
    The redundancies are emblematic of the uncertainty about the future of Stellantis's production in Italy, which have risen after the recent resignation of Carlos Tavares as CEO.
    Elly Schlein, the leader of the opposition, centre-left Democratic Party (PD), called on Premier Giorgia Meloni's government to intervene.
    "The dismissals that arrived this morning are unacceptable and we demand that this procedure be stopped immediately," Schlein said as she met the Trasnova workers at Pomigliano.
    "These workers keep our country on its feet.
    "You cannot leave 400 families out on the street, especially just before Christmas.
    "We need to give prospects," she added, referring to government talks with Stellantis on the auto sector.
    She also reiterated her demand for Stellantis Chairman John Elkann to report to parliament on the situation at the group.
    The government has reportedly set aside 750 million euro for the carmaker provided it gets assurances about production staying in Italy, where Stellantis has cut thousands of jobs in the last two years.
    This has brought criticism from those who say that the manufacturer, in its current and previous iteration as Fiat, has been the beneficiary of great state largesse that has not staved off the job cuts and fears of more redudancies and delocalisation.
    Tavares quit last week amid disagrements with the board, Stellantis said.
    It has denied reports he will get a 100 million euro golden handshake, instead stating that it will not be more than 36 million.
    The carmaker's critics have noted that it has made billions for shareholders in recent years. (ANSA).