Beko, agreement with 700 fewer redundancies and 300 million investment

The dispute of the multinational household appliance company Beko, which at the end of last year announced almost 2,000 redundancies in our country, is at a turning point. The hypothesis of a framework agreement with the trade unions (Fim, Fiom, Uilm, Uglm, Filcams, Fisascat, Uiltucs and Ugl terziario) is beginning to take shape with 700 fewer redundancies than expected, 300 million in investments for the three-year period 2025-2027, the reindustrialisation of the Siena site, a voluntary redundancy incentive plan that will reach up to 85,000 euro, 24 months of Cigs (state unemployment benefit) and recourse to active policies. Now there will be the workers' meetings that will have to approve the hypothesis of the agreement, and on 14 April a meeting has been scheduled at Mimit with Minister Adolfo Urso for the final signature.

The first part of the hypothesis of the agreement explains that as part of the industrial transformation plan to be implemented in the three-year period 2025-2027, the Beko group will undertake to make major investments in Italy to improve the competitiveness of production plants, develop areas of excellence related to Industrial Design and cooking technology functions, where the group aims to be the market leader. The investment plan will have a scope of EUR 300 million.

The plan envisages at Cassinetta di Biandronno (VA) the European hub for built-in products, for the cooking and refrigeration categories, at Melano (AN) the European hub for the production of gas, radiant and induction hobs, at Comunanza (AP) the site for the production of high-end built-in washer-dryers and washer-dryers, at Carinaro (CE) the European hub for spare parts and accessories and the Italian reconditioning centre for used appliances. In view of the investments and missions of the individual sites, the Parties agreed that the total number of workers made redundant will not exceed 1,284. Considering that 299 people work at the Siena site and that Beko will cease its activity, but the site will be reindustrialised with the aim of reabsorbing all or as many people as possible, the redundancies would fall to one thousand, about half of those initially declared. In fact, the redundancies, according to the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, should be reduced from the 1,935 in the plan presented by the company in November 2024 to less than a thousand. From Mimit they also add that there will be no collective redundancies and in fact the redundancies will be halved compared to the plan. The redundancies will be managed with voluntary and economically incentivised exits. Where possible, Beko undertakes to make redundant workers return through internal job posting and also to use part time to reabsorb them and the consequent reduction of full time to part time on a voluntary basis. In all cases, the agreed criterion provides for the non-opposition to the termination of the relationship and the subjective willingness of the workers to voluntarily sign an individual conciliation report at the trade union, pursuant to Article 410 et seq. of the Italian Civil Procedure Code, containing the waiver of the appeal against the termination measure. An incentive plan of up to €85,000 has been provided for this.

The third part of the agreement concerns the Siena site, whose closure is confirmed. A path aimed at reindustrialisation has been started, for which an external advisor has already been identified. In addition, with regard to the Siena site, there is the commitment of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, which has already formally mandated Invitalia to evaluate the possibility of purchasing the Via Toselli property, to pursue and define, possibly also in agreement with the Municipality of Siena, with which Invitalia has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding, the path directed at finalising the purchase of the site, consistent with the reindustrialisation plan.

As for social shock absorbers, in order to reduce the impact as much as possible, it was agreed to use the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (Cigs) social shock absorber as an extraordinary wage integration treatment, also on an exceptional basis, as provided for by current legislation as well as by legal provisions that provide for similar instruments in the medium term, as detailed below, for a period of 24 months starting immediately and in any case from the termination of the current social shock absorber instruments currently used by the companies concerned. The hypothesis of the agreement provides, however, that the parties shall take steps to implement all active policy actions to relocate the redundant persons.