Automotive workers hold one-day strike on Friday

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 18 - Workers with Italian-French carmaker Stellantis and the entire automotive sector are holding a strike on Friday organized by the main metalworkers' unions Fim, Fiom and Uilm.
    A national demonstration is scheduled to take place in Rome to defend employment in the sector and relaunch the future of the automotive industry in Italy, starting with Stellantis, unions said.
    The march on Friday will start in Piazza Barberini and end in Piazza del Popolo where the leaders of metalworker's unions - Ferdinando Uliano, Michele De Palma and Rocco Palombella - will address the rally.
    The leaders of the main labour unions Cgil, Cisl and Uil - Maurizio Landini, Luigi Sbarra and Pierpaolo Bombardieri - will also participate along with delegations of European and international labour unions and opposition members, with thousands of workers from all over Italy expected to attend the event.
    Metalworkers' unions said in a statement leading up to the strike that "Stellantis in Italy and the automotive in general in Europe are collapsing" with "industrial and employment perspectives irreparably at risk", calling for "urgent responses from the EU, the government, Stellantis and component factories".
    On Friday, Landini urged the government to summon unions, Stellantis and vehicle components' producers to discuss an "overall strategic plan in Italy and in Europe".
    "In Italy, we are producing 300,000 cars when we would have the productive capacity for 1.5 million cars", Landini told the Agorà program of the third channel of State broadcaster Rai.
    According to data provided by the metalworkers' unions, in 2023 Stellantis produced in Italy a total of 751,000 vehicles, including 521,000 cars and 230,000 commercial vehicles.
    Over the past 17 years - between 2007 and 2024 - the production in Italy of Fiat cars (subsequently FCA and Stellantis) was slashed by nearly 70% from 911,000 to the 300,000 estimated this year, if the production trend will continue.
    Out of the 505,000 cars sold in Italy, less than half were produced in the country (225,000), the unions said (ANSA).