Fashion in crisis, Cig until 31 January to support 30,000 workers

The government is putting more than EUR 110 million on the table, 73.6 in 2024 and 36.8 in 2025, to deal with the employment crisis for employees of companies in the fashion industry. Which is experiencing a critical moment: the fashion sector extended to eyewear, jewellery and beauty, according to forecasts by the National Chamber of Fashion, will close 2024 at just under 96 billion euro, down 5.3% on 2023. The figures for the leather, leather goods and footwear sector are more negative: according to the estimate of Confindustria Accessori Moda, it will record a drop of 8.1% on last year. So much so that in Tuscany alone, where the luxury leather goods production hubs are located, there would be about 100 thousand people laid off.

The Italian fashion industry has about 60,000 companies and 600,000 employees: it is therefore a sector made up of very small, highly specialised companies on average. Precisely to the rescue of SMEs came the extension of the redundancy fund in derogation for companies in the sector employing up to 15 workers (in the previous six months) for a maximum period of 12 weeks that can be used until 31 January 2025. This redundancy fund, which can be used by companies in the textile, leather, clothing and footwear, tanning and fashion accessories manufacturing and welding sectors, can be requested by way of derogation from the current rules (whereby ordinary and extraordinary treatment may not exceed 24 months in a five-year rolling period and wage subsidies are paid up to a maximum period of 13 continuous weeks, extendable up to 52 weeks) and from the provisions governing the duration of the benefit provided by the alternative bilateral solidarity fund for the craft sector.

The novelty is contained in Decree Law 160, which was converted into law by the Senate in recent days. Compared to the original wording of the law, the protections are extended (from 8 to 12 weeks), the period of use is extended (from 31 December 2024 to 31 January 2025) and also the companies covered by the social security cushion, which now also include those involved in the production of precious and semi-finished metals, metal processing the manufacture of moulds, metal articles and chemicals for industrial use, or which manufacture machine tools for metalworking or textile processing equipment, sewing and knitting machines, or which manufacture equipment for the leather, hides and footwear industry.

According to the technical report to Decree Law 160, in 2023 there were approximately 124,400 workers employed by companies with 15 or fewer employees in the sectors covered by the rule, with a weighted average monthly salary of EUR 1,340.80. The potential number of beneficiaries of the measure is estimated to be around 30,000.

For Sistema moda Italia (Smi), which as of 1 January will change its name to Confindustria Moda-Federazione Tessile Moda (see also the article opposite), in the first half of 2024 the redundancy fund was already being used by more than one company in four (26%), hence the need to extend its use: "The extension of the Cig in deroga until January is positive, however, estimating that the crisis will persist for a good part of 2025, the measure does not seem sufficient either for artisan or industrial companies, which could begin to exhaust the ordinary Cig and which are more unlikely to activate the procedures to benefit from the more complex social shock absorbers such as extraordinary Cig and Solidarity Contracts," Sergio Tamborini, president of Smi, stressed in recent days.