Newco per l’ex Ilva, l’appello dei sindacati a Mattarella e Meloni

Federacciai and 14 steel companies have appealed to President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni, urging them to engage in preliminary discussions to assess the feasibility of a project involving the ex-Ilva steelworks. The appeal comes in a letter from Federacciai and the 14 companies to Project Sider, a project advisory firm working on behalf of Acciaierie d'Italia and Ilva, both under extraordinary administration.

The appeal is not a formal offer or commitment, but rather a willingness to explore the possibility of creating a new company (Newco) to manage the industrial project. The initiative aims to verify the viability of a project that, due to its size, complexity, and strategic importance, requires the input of multiple industrial, economic, financial, and institutional factors. A proper assessment, including due diligence, will be necessary to define the scope, structure, conditions, and terms of any potential operation.

Italian steelmakers have proposed focusing only on the cold-end area of the former Ilva plant in Taranto, which includes steel production and semi-finished product processing. This area is not subject to legal proceedings and currently employs around 1,600 workers. In contrast, the hot-end area, which is the subject of legal disputes, employs about 3,200 workers. Currently, approximately 2,800-3,000 people are receiving wage subsidies in Taranto.