Campagnolo, cuts confirmed but no relocation

Campagnolo confirms the industrial plan - including the choice, defined as 'forced as necessary, of a major cost reduction' - but denies any hypothesis of delocalisation circulated in recent days: 'The sole objective is to relaunch competitiveness and ensure that production at the Vicenza plant continues,' the company explained in a note.

Right here in the Vicenza area, the owners of the historic bicycle components company intend to reduce the workforce by 120 people, including office and factory workers, out of 300 employees. There followed, on Monday 1. December, the assemblies with the workers with Fim, Fiom and Rsu determined to demand a halt to the staff reduction in order to start a dialogue and find other ways out of the crisis. An industry crisis, but one that for the company founded in 1933 also began with the advent of the Shimano gearbox. For Fiom CGIL, 'the company over the years has made uncompetitive managerial choices and management that have undermined the balance sheet; that is why the request of the unions is, in addition to the withdrawal of the redundancies, to present an industrial plan that explains what the future plans are and how they intend to return to being competitive and profitable'.

Last June, Cherry Bank had finalised a financing operation for around EUR 8.5 million for the leading designer and manufacturer of components for high-end racing bicycles; the operation was aimed at supporting the global launch of the revolutionary 13-speed gearbox, the first product in the world with such features.

Today the plan and cuts have been confirmed, 'to relaunch the competitiveness of its excellent products on international markets and ensure that Campagnolo production at the Vicenza plant continues its glorious history. This applies both to Campagnolo's classic products, which are appreciated worldwide, and to the new Super Record 13 platform, which is fully meeting expectations. The groupset is receiving excellent feedback from the market, thanks to its performance and proven reliability, and is bringing the brand back among the benchmarks chosen by top bike manufacturers".

Product planning, however," says the company, "goes well beyond this first important step. Thanks to the solidity of this new technological base, Campagnolo is already at an advanced stage in the development of further platforms that will allow the company to extend its presence in the intermediate product ranges and then in the more widely distributed ones, thus increasing its production commitment. To this end, the Board of Directors' desire to structurally review its supply chain, focusing on short and fast supplies, therefore in Italy, is proof of the absolute will to focus on its quality and made in Italy production".