Leonardo, what will happen to the Aerostructures division
Leonardo Aerostructures: crisis and prospects. The speech by Michele Zanocco, national secretary of Fim Cisl
On Tuesday 10 March, the periodic meeting to check the situation relating to the Leonardo Aerostructures Division was held to analyze the forecast situation of the market and the necessary interventions to continue the safety of the sites.
The repercussions deriving from the pandemic crisis that heavily hit the civil transport sector and the large international manufacturers (Boeing, Airbus, Atr) weighed heavily on the orders collected in 2020, recording a partial reduction in workloads.
2021 will be characterized as the worst year for production volumes with a production forecast of 4.7 B787 / month compared to the previous 14 and about 22 Atr against 75 in 2019. The new forecasts of market recovery, linked to the persistence of the pandemic situation, see 2026 as the year in which it is expected to return to the volumes of 2019.
In a complex and difficult situation like this, Leonardo confirmed the investments announced in the various projects such as Top, Nemesi, Capitanata and Aerocampus as well as 3D printers to which technological developments and adaptations on production lines are added, starting from those Atr.
Investments are already underway and aim at achieving the objectives of guaranteeing technological updating and production prospects also through the expansion of production opportunities both for the constructions (Foggia and Nola) and for the production lines (Pomigliano) but above all for the new ones. programs.
Four lines of development have been confirmed concerning composite materials for use in extreme conditions for which the JV with Solvay has already been built and the start-up phase of the development of the EuroMale continues for which Leonardo will develop and produce the block alare: both programs will affect the Grottaglie site.
The agreement with Comac was confirmed for the production of fuselage parts in composite material for the CR929 aircraft that will be developed in Foggia, to which is added the participation in the Aerion project for the construction of a large supersonic jet, on two projects distinct with Spirit and Aernova.
Even in the presence of these important prospective projects, the productive – and therefore employment – repercussions for some of these will be concrete no earlier than four years. This has led the company to plan some interventions aimed at Leonardo's Aerostructures Division that allow, in a non-traumatic way, to cope with this difficult situation.
Leonardo therefore identified two tools for crisis management. The first will be the requalification of about 500 workers of the Division functional to the adaptation of skills and inter-company mobility. The second provides for the accompaniment to the retirement of 500 male and female workers through the targeted use of the provisions of Article 4 of the Fornero Law with exits foreseen in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.
As Fim Cisl, we expressed our concern about the persistence of the crisis in the aeronautical market and we asked the company to foresee closely, the definition of a new meeting to analyze in detail the situation and the tools described by the company.
Despite the awareness of the critical moment and the need to produce interventions that avoid traumatic solutions, in continuity with the agreement of last December 17 that "made safe" the workers of the Division from the use of social safety nets, we believe however it is essential to look up at the perspective.
The present skills must be safeguarded and guaranteed that this heritage is not lost as we believe it necessary for the company to operate so that the necessary reduction in employment that has been manifested today is not to be considered structural but, at the start of the new programs, the restoration of the jobs this crisis is destroying.
All this must take place to protect an important and strategic sector for the country and to guarantee employment in the territories of Grottaglie, Foggia, Nola and Pomigliano.
The Fim Cisl will sit at the discussion table with the responsibility and firmness that has always distinguished it to identify the solutions necessary to protect Leonardo workers.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/leonardo-cosa-succedera-alla-divisione-aerostrutture/ on Fri, 12 Mar 2021 08:50:16 +0000.