Vigevano, farewell to Moreschi: 59 employees fired
The historian Moreschi luxury footwear company has started the procedure dismissal of 59 employees. Production will be moved elsewhere, a blow to the economy They livedonce capital of Italian footwear. Moreschi’s decision testifies to the industrial decline of the city. As reported by the Corriere, the news has sparked a heated debate in the city, with a open city council meeting scheduled for March 14th to allow workers to meet the municipal administration. The mayor of Vigevano, Andrea Ceffacommented: “Moreschi’s choice is legitimate from an entrepreneurial point of view, but it leaves me annoyed. It contradicts what the company has always maintained, which said it was willing to maintain a production base here. The Municipality is available to collaborate with the relevant institutions to find solutions for the workers.”
Acquisition of Hurleys SA for green production
Founded in 1946the Moreschi company was acquired by Hurleys SA in July 2020. Hurleys, as reported to the Corriere, aims for “one green production, impossible to implement in the Vigevano plant”. The production will remain in Italy, scattered throughout other regions, maintaining the design, quality control and company store in Vigevano. Despite the layoffs, the company plans new hires in a development phase that aims to double its 25 mono-brand stores around the world. “The choice is strategic, not just economic” underlines the company.
Vigevano, from “the city of a thousand factories” to a symbol of decline
In the famous article from 1962 in Il Giorno, Giorgio Bocca he painted Vigevano as “the city of a thousand factories and no bookshop” with 25,000 workers out of 60,000 inhabitants. Today, although there are some bookshops, the manufacturing sector is in decline. The recent layoffs are yet another testimony to this. The unions harshly criticize the new ownership. The CGIL denounces the use of layoffs and previous dismissals, underlining that the Product quality is linked to complete control of the production cycle. As reported to the Corriere “we were against it, we found an agreement: Hurleys had made it clear that these redundancies were the only way to relaunch the company and maintain the production site in Vigevano. Words contradicted by facts”.
Factory at risk of closure: 21 workers on the line
During the peak there were 300 employees; now, only 21 remain. Lo establishmenterected twenty years ago, is an icon of Vigevanoma risks closure. The trade unionist doubts that it is unsuitable for an eco-sustainable change, “it would have been enough to invest to improve it“. He suspects that the owners aim to maintain the brand, emptying the company for real estate purposes. Without dialogue with the management, the workers will defend the production site and make their voices heard, both in the city council and beyond. “If the battle to save these jobs is lost, it is not right that it happens in silence.”.