The workers of Electrolux in Solaro (Milan) say yes by a large majority to the agreement on productivity which unlocks the investment of 102 million euros, foreseen by the multinational, and leads to 100 hirings. In addition to training on industry 4.0 for 110 people. The investments, according to Massimiliano Nobis of the Fim Cisl, will bring «automation interventions on the lines and the renewal of the technological departments. The aim is to position the future dishwasher in the medium and high level of the range and increase market shares with production at full capacity of 1 million 300 thousand pieces compared to the 780 thousand produced on average in recent years».
The destination of the dishwashers will be both the European and North American markets. Taking only the European one, it must be said that there are wide margins for development given that the penetration rate of the dishwasher is around 50% and it is a market that is far from being saturated, unlike what can be said for other appliances: in Europe in 2022 11 million dishwashers were sold, an increase of 5% is expected for 2023, 600 thousand pieces.
The multinational in Italy has approximately 5,800 employees in 5 production sites: Porcia (washing machines and washer-dryers), Susegana (refrigerators and freezers), Solaro (dishwashers), Forlì (ovens and hobs) and Cerreto d’Esi (cooker hoods). Of all of them, Solaro is the one who has the greatest need for investment, which is also very clear to the union, as shown by the two agreements that have been reached on reorganisation. The first, signed a couple of weeks ago, established that there will be 222 voluntary and incentivized exits at a national level, while the second, reached in the past few hours, concerned only the Solaro site and set the number of pieces to be produced at 108. now from the current 90s. This is a jump of 20%, where the stakes for the 670 workers called to vote for the agreement are very high. The investment that Electrolux has put on the plate for the relaunch of Solaro, without the guarantee of greater competitiveness and the union agreement, would in fact have remained at a standstill and probably would have taken the path of another of the 120 countries in which the multinational is present . Putting at risk the relaunch of the Lombard site which needs an intense reorganization in the now obsolete technological department, in the packaging plant and assembly lines.
As Alberto Larghi, national coordinator of the Electrolux group for Fiom-Cgil and Gianni Ranzini, of the Fiom Milan secretariat observe, «the approved agreement provides for the Swedish multinational’s commitment to consolidate and strengthen the Solaro site and the production of dishwashers in Italy, an agreement that goes against the trend in our country, in a sector from which others are disengaged». The outcome of the referendum ensured a leap into the future for the workers of the Lombard site but also for 100 new workers who will be hired thanks to the agreement and the investment.
Electrolux, 300 redundancies in Italy and 102 million investments in Solaro appear in the reorganization