UPDATE 1-Stellantis signs deals to cut at least 2,500 jobs in Italy
(Adds details of further voluntary lay-offs)
MILAN, March 26 (Reuters) - Stellantis has reached voluntary deals to cut at least 2,500 jobs in Italy, labour unions said on Tuesday, as the carmaker tries to adapt to changes needed for the industry's transition to clean energy.
Up to 1,520 employees will have the opportunity to leave Stellantis with financial incentives in Turin, including 300 at the Mirafiori plant and 733 office staff, the UILM union said.
Stellantis agreed further voluntary lay-off deals for up to 850 employees at its Cassino assembly plant in central Italy, and for up to 100 at its engine making facility in Pratola Serra, said the FIOM union, which did not sign the deals.
A Stellantis spokesman confirmed the deals in Turin and Pratola Serra but not the one in Cassino. However he added that further agreements are expected for other sites in Italy in the coming days, under a framework agreed with unions last week.
"The agreements are part of the initiatives implemented by Stellantis to address the effects of the ongoing energy and technology transition process ... including on employment," the spokesman said.
The agreements are on a strictly voluntary basis, and mostly aimed at employees close to retirement age or willing to take new professional opportunities, he added.
Stellantis employs about 43,000 people in Italy, including about 15,000 in the area of Turin, in Italy's north-west, the historic home of Fiat, which merged first with Chrysler and later with Peugeot-maker PSA to create Stellantis.
Voluntary redundancy packages have been the main tool used by Stellantis to cut its workforce in Italy, which amounted to around 55,000 people when the group was formed in early 2021.
Italy's government is in talks with Stellantis on boosting the automaker's annual Italian output to one million vehicles, from about 750,000 last year. The carmaker reiterated on Tuesday that Italy had a central role to play in its global operations.
Stellantis has trimmed jobs in other major centres. It said last week it would lay off about 400 U.S. salaried workers as it seeks to cut costs, boost efficiency and ramp up electric-vehicle production plans. (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Keith Weir and Alexander Smith)
