Ex Ilva, l’indotto si ferma: rischio di un migliaio di licenziamenti

The aftermath of Ex Ilva's shutdown is already feeling the first repercussions of the closure of its hot area, which must occur by the end of October (90 days from July 27) as ordered by the Milan Court of Appeal. The AIGI industry association has announced that "in a few days, the dismissals will be formalized. Currently, about a thousand employees are affected, divided among three or four companies.

Companies that do not see a possibility to restart the hot area believe that there is no sense in using the social integration fund and are activating collective dismissal procedures." However, 30% of the problem is already happening with the non-renewal of fixed-term work contracts. Meanwhile, the maintenance company Peyrani Spa has communicated to the unions the suspension of work (regular procedure) for 55 units.

Another company, Itelyum-Castiglia, declared that with the return to production, logistics and the discharge of raw materials at the port, where 70 units are employed, including 16 with fixed-term contracts, will also stop. "This leads to a structural shock that the company intends to address with due timeliness to avoid financial repercussions," writes Itelyum-Castiglia.

Before these developments, another company, Semat Engineering, has requested the renewal of the social integration fund for over 200 employees as the work stoppage has been ongoing for several months. Sources close to Acciaierie d'Italia say that for the shutdown of the hot area, everything necessary has been studied, analyzed, and planned.

It is not that it will be done from today to tomorrow, they emphasize, because a communication through a plan must be given to the Ministry of Environment, local entities, and control authorities. And a date has not yet been set, they insist. Three more invitations are expected soon: one to the company for informing the unions about the stop and timing, one from the Government on the future of Ex Ilva, considering the bids from Italian steelmakers with Federacciai, the Indians from Jindal, the Americans from Flacks Group, and the Czech group CE Industries; and finally, also from the Government through the Taranto Table on new industrialization.

Meanwhile, Vincenzo Cesareo, head of the metalmechanical group Comes and president of the Taranto Chamber of Commerce, has written to the Government stating that "the moral and economic imperative must be to save the hot area, transforming it technically, as it is now unavoidable, so that it stops being an environmental wound and becomes, on the contrary, the framework that feeds the cold area, ensuring sustainable and high-quality Italian steel, as well as good employment.

In this scenario, it is not acceptable to exclude or lack local entrepreneurship from decision-making processes of such magnitude." The Comes board of directors has decided one million euros "to participate in an entrepreneurial chain aimed at acquiring and reviving Ex Ilva" and hopes that other local partners will join. Finally, on the judicial front, the legal action to try to block the shutdown has been completed.

After Ilva, Acciaierie d'Italia has also presented the extraordinary appeal to the Cassation Court and has filed a suspensory application with the Court of Appeal. AdI writes in its appeal: "The Court of Appeal, ordering the immediate suspension of hot area activities, has entirely replaced its restraining measure with that ordered by the Tribunal, thus depriving AdI of the possibility of relying on the remedial measure indicated by the Tribunal to avoid the suspension of steel production activities."