“The decision of the Leonardo Group (controlled by the State) to sell the Leonardo Elettronica assets (the old Wass company) to Fincantieri is at an advanced stage and will involve all the staff of the 2 sites involved: Livorno and Monterusciello (Pozzuoli), including the Leonardo has also ensured the maintenance of the activities and employment levels of the supply companies. The operation should be completed by the end of 2024.” This was announced by the three general secretaries of Fim, Fiom and Uilm, Ferdinando Uliano, Michele De Palma and Rocco Palombella, after the meeting with the CEO of Leonardo Roberto Cingolani and the co-director general Lorenzo Mariania Roma.
The confirmation of the sale of Leonardo Elettronica to Fincantieri, with at least a formal commitment to include personnel, sites and factories in Livorno and Monterusciello in this transfer, at least partially dispels the fears that emerged in Livorno regarding the fate of the former Wass plant in via del Levant. The councilor for work and development of the Municipality of Livorno, Gianfranco Simomcini, who is closely following this matter, declares: “In the discussion that the mayor Luca Salvetti and I had last week with the provincial secretariats of Fim-Fiom- Uilm, there was no opposition to the sale of the former Wass to Fincantieri, but we all agreed on the need for concrete guarantees to be given on employment levels, on the role of the Livorno site and on the products. In recent years, in fact, the former Wass (today Leonardo Defense Systems of the electronics division, ed.) has expanded production by adding to underwater defense systems such as torpedoes and sonar, also other devices for civil use which have allowed its development”.
Simoncini also comments: “In the meeting in Rome between the CEO of Leonardo Cingolani and the general secretaries of Fim, Fiom and Uilm and Rsu, the desire to sell to Fincantieri was confirmed. Compared to the initial concerns regarding the fact that it was not the picture of the situation is clear, it would now seem that the Livorno plant could also pass to Fincantieri not only in terms of know-how and workers, but also the production site intended as a plant would allow it to consolidate its presence in the Livorno area, where Leonardo Elettronica employs almost five hundred direct employees. Then, in light of the progress made by the Livorno site, it has foreseen in its urban planning instruments the expansion of the plant. demonstration of its roots. In fact, this former Wass refinery, after the Eni refinery, is the most important production site in Livorno also in terms of staff with its 500 employees”.
Mayor Salvetti for his part at the meeting with the provincial secretariats of Fim-Fiom-Uilm and RSU made the commitment to “also directly involve the president of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani and to ask for a ministerial table in Rome” because the post at stake is high for a reality like that of Livorno, which is still classified as an area of high industrial crisis, which certainly cannot afford to lose such an important and qualifying production asset as Leonardo Elettronica
Monica Dolciotti
