«We are able to keep up with Chinese competitors, if someone wants to introduce Chinese competitors they will be responsible for the unpopular decisions that will have to be made». Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said this on the occasion of the inauguration of the eDCT Assembly Plant, as part of the “Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030” project.
Tavares also commented on the news that the Group is completely divesting its activities in Italy: “There are those who say that we want to leave Italy, this is fake news and fake news opens the window to let the Chinese in.” «The arrival of a competitor leads to a reduction in the market share of leaders like us in Italy. If we are under pressure we can accelerate productivity to reduce costs. Furthermore, if we lose market share, fewer factories are needed”, Tavares said once more. «Introducing Chinese competition is a big threat to Stellantis. We will fight, but when fighting there can be casualties. Don’t expect us to emerge victorious without scars.”
In the morning, the CEO of Stellantis met with the metalworkers’ unions. A discussion that lasted two hours during which the workers’ representatives asked for concrete answers. At the center of the discussion, the halved volumes of Mirafiori, Melfi and Cassino, in the first quarter of the year, the lack of new models in pole position in 2024, the crisis in related industries.
During the meeting the CEO made no commitments on any additional production assignments, not exclusively linked to full electric, for the Group’s Italian factories, starting with Turin and Melfi. According to Ferdinando Uliano, secretary of the Fim Cisl, “the CEO has confirmed the commitment to one million vehicles in Italy” but no concrete responses to the various critical situations have arrived.
«The meeting with Carlos Tavares was a precious opportunity both to listen to Stellantis’ point of view on how to deal with the transition to electric and to expose the legitimate demands of the workers» underlines Gianluca Ficco, Uilm national secretary responsible for the auto sector. For the unions, therefore, the confrontation with Stellantis’ number 1 was an opportunity to represent the demands of Italian workers, the need to avoid a clash between Government and Company and the need to strengthen a relationship of trust between Italy and Stellantis.
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2024-04-11 07:05:34
