Reorganisation for Tiscali and Linkem, Canarbino arrives
The incentive redundancy plan is over and now the new industrial project is awaited. Also in light of the latest development that sees on the table of the telecommunications company a proposal for the leasing of a company branch. These are the latest sequences of the dispute involving Tiscali, the telecommunications company founded by Renato Soru, with headquarters in Cagliari and others in Bari, Taranto and Rome, which, like other companies, is having to come to terms with the crisis affecting the sector. A company considered revolutionary in its early days, it has seen significant staff reductions over the years. 'In December 2015 there were 1,100 Tiscali workers in Sardinia,' argues Tonino Ortega, secretary general of Uilcom Sardegna. In 2022 we arrived at around 600 workers. Also in 2022 Linkem acquired Tiscali and we went to 1,100 the sum of 600 Tiscali and 500 Linkem. Today we are 700 workers of which 450 are Cagliari'. Cuts and reductions due to the market and a series of factors on which, according to the unions, 'it is necessary to intervene'.
Upstream is the framework in which all Tlc companies and the market work. 'Tiscali operates in a sector that, overall, has lost 15 billion in revenues,' says Tonino Ortega, secretary of Uilcom Sardegna. 'We, as social partners, are doing a battle to make the institutions aware of the infrastructure issue. Because without a dedicated intervention the companies, and I mean all the companies, must necessarily reduce revenues if they want to compete, taking actions that ultimately lead to a reduction in revenues'. Hence the need to intervene to reduce costs and 'safeguard' jobs. 'Tiscali is big compared to the small ones, but small compared to the big ones,' argues Ortega, 'and this, clearly, creates problems that we are addressing with a defensive union policy. Meaning? "In order to avoid traumatic events of workers leaving, we have decided to use the tools available to lighten the fixed cost in a non-painful way," he adds, "with the sale of business units and incentive redundancies. Actions that do not generate a negative social impact. Then the use of dialogue and negotiation'. There was also the acquisition of Linkem. "Unfortunately, the relaunch we all hoped for did not take place,' he adds. 'The situation did not improve and so we went ahead with defensive union activity. That means resorting to safeguard measures. Between December 2025 and January 2026 there were 220 incentive redundancies between Cagliari, Rome, Bari and Taranto'. All as part of an organisational overhaul to address the company's economic and financial situation. 'Everything our side could do has been accomplished,' Ortega adds, 'now we are waiting for the company to convene us and tell us what the projects and programmes are to relaunch the business. What strategies and actions will be pursued'.
The company then sent a lengthy note announcing that the board of directors of Tessellis, the Group's holding company resulting from the merger of Linkem and Tiscali, had resolved to accept a binding offer 'concerning the valorisation of Tiscali Italia's B2C business unit and the "Tiscali" and "Linkem" brands, to be realised through a rental contract functional to the subsequent purchase of the business unit and brands'.
The company Canarbino S.p.A. made the offer 'received on 1 March' in favour of Tessellis and Tiscali Italia S.p.A. for the future sale of the same'. This is a company that with 700 employees and 800 thousand customers operates in the energy sector in the electricity and natural gas sector. 'In light of what has been communicated,' Ortega concludes, 'it is necessary to convene a meeting to find out about future programmes and projects.
