Lear in Grugliasco and its 365 employees move to Mechatronix (Fulchir)

One of the longest industrial disputes in the automotive components sector in Turin and Piedmont has come to an end. It concerns the Lear plant in Grugliasco, on the outskirts of Turin, the historic seat production plant for the Maserati brand, which has been idle for over four years. An agreement has been reached for the sale of the asset to the Fulchir Group, which operates in various sectors, from electronics to automotive.

As of 1 May, Lear - plant and workers, 365 in all - will pass to Mechatronix, a newco owned by the Fulchir Group, 55% controlled by the Padua-based Zetronic. With a final passage to the ministry scheduled for 29 April. In the future of the plant there are 24 months of extraordinary redundancy fund for reorganisation, in parallel with the industrial relaunch phase of the pole.

The last aspects to be clarified in the transfer agreement (Art. 47), which has been outlined in recent weeks between Lear and Mechatronix, and which will see a final passage to the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy next week, concerned the protection of the workers and the definition of the redundancy fund, agreed with the Piedmont Region.

One of the industrial crises 'symbolic' of the difficulties of the automotive industry in Piedmont and Italia had seen another hypothesis of acquisition and relaunch of the asset by the Italo-Chinese newco Fipa disappear last February. Now the circle seems to be closing with an agreement reached on the sale and on social shock absorbers. And, above all, with an industrial plan, which envisages the start-up of a series of productions straddling the automotive, photovoltaic and aeronautical sectors, with 20 million in investments in the field.