How much does Stellantis hate Italy? The Leapmotor case
The rumor that Leapmotor's Chinese 500-like electric cars will be produced in Mirafiori is becoming increasingly weaker: Stellantis has in fact chosen Poland. Another hard blow for the Turin plant which will also stop producing the Maserati Levante at the end of the month
If Chinese electric cars are ever produced in Italy, it will probably start with the brand identified by the government (there is talk of negotiations started with Chery , BYD and a third car manufacturer about whose identity, however, we have only conflicting rumors) rather than with Stellantis. Despite what had been rumored following the investments of the Group led by Carlos Tavares in the former Leapmotor startup founded by Fu Liquan and Jiangming Zhu, the battery-powered cars of the Asian brand (including the new T3 model, known for the incredible somewhat pirate-like resemblance to the Fiat 500) could be produced in the plant that Stellantis has in Poland rather than in Italy.
NO CHINESE 500 IN MIRAFIORI
Yet another blow to the stomach for the Italian industrial world, which has yet to digest the Algerian 500 , the Serbian Panda , the Moroccan Topolino and the Polish 600 . This is despite the fact that nowadays the original electric 500 is already assembled in Mirafiori, even if the shifts have gone from two to one: its lines, however, would be perfect for the clone (or an evolution of it) that comes from the Far East. They shouldn't undergo major transformations.
STELLANTIS CHOOSES POLAND FOR LEAPMOTOR
According to Reuters previews, however, the production of Leapmotor's T03 small car in the Old Continent will start, already in the second quarter, in the Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, using the "semi-knocked down" (SKD) technique, which consists of processing kits partially assembled in China into finished vehicles.
WHAT THE TYCHY PLANT DOES
The Polish plant south of Katowize, Silesia region, in addition to producing the new Panda since the early 2000s, then the Fiat 500 and in more recent years the Jeep Avengler, since last September 7th it has also been the cradle of the New Fiat 600e.
That it is crucial in Stellantis' industrial plans can be understood from the fact that the Franco-Italian group invested over 200 million euros in 2021 for the restyling of the plant to allow work on the multienergy platforms eCMP and CMP (of Psa origin) intended to a varied range of models.
THE ENTIRELY ITALIAN TENSIONS
The situation in Mirafiori remains tense, at the moment without any concrete plan for its future. In fact, the blue collars did not like the decision to extend the redundancy fund for employees working on the 500 Bev and Maserati models from 2 to 20 April. A total of 2240 workers were involved.
The company had already placed Mirafiori workers on Cigo for a month in the period between 2023 and 2024, for three weeks from 12 February to 3 March and then had extended the benefit until 30 March. Finally yet another postponement to April 20th. The fear is that of ending up like the Maserati factory in Grugliasco which closed its doors in the second half of last December.
THE STELLANTIS REPLICA
Stellantis for its part recalls that approximately 240 million are earmarked for the historic plant south of Turin for the Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030 plan for the construction of the Battery Technology Center, the plant for the production of the electrified eDCT gearbox, the grEEn Campus and the Hub of Circular Economy SustainERA but, remembering the effects of the ongoing energy transition process, including employment ones, intends to sign a framework agreement with the trade unions signatory to the Specific Collective Labor Agreement to define the identification methods and economic treatments provided for workers interested in terminating their employment relationship because they are close to meeting the pension requirements or who intend to undertake new professional paths.
THE FIOM WALL
Fiom (Cgil) seems intent on making a wall, according to what was declared by Samuele Lodi , national secretary and Maurizio Oreggia , national automotive coordinator, at the end of a meeting on voluntary voluntary exits with incentives: "The emptying action of the Stellantis factories continues, a terrible a signal if we consider that these exits are not compensated by the hiring of young people, who would provide an important prospect for the future", they said in fact from Fiom.
BECAUSE MIRAFIORI HOPED AT LEAST IN LEAPMOTOR
For this reason, on 12 April in Turin an 8-hour strike was proclaimed by all the trade unions for the entire automotive sector, which will most likely also be joined by all third parties, i.e. the Italian suppliers born around the Fiat factories and which their livelihood is closely linked to the industrial choices of the group.
The death of these small businesses has already begun. The last to have definitively lowered the shutters was the historic Proma , the components company that supplied Maserati. It should be remembered that at the end of the month the Turin lines will no longer churn out the Maserati Levante. Of the 33 Trident cars produced every day at Mirafiori, 25 are Levante. The stop to the production of this model effectively eliminates the production of the Trident in Mirafiori.
DISMISSALS ALSO IN THE USA
Cuts in sight even beyond the ocean. At least according to what the Wall Street Journal reports, according to which Stellantis, which has the American Chrysler in its portfolio, is laying off around 400 employees in the United States, mainly in the software and engineering divisions.
The Group, interviewed by the business daily, confirmed in a note that it plans to reduce its engineering, technology and software organizations by around 2% in the United States. The reorganization would be due to the optimization of costs related to those faced for the ecological and technological transition.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/leapmotor-stellantis-polonia/ on Mon, 25 Mar 2024 14:05:39 +0000.