First meeting at Ministry of Business and Made in Italy between Beko Europe, which as of Last April 1st took over Whirlpool EMEA, and the trade unions Fim, Fiom, Uilm and UglM.
Beko, as is known, is a large global group that counts beyond Europe 20,000 employees11 production sites, 6 research and development laboratories and 16 brands, including Beko, Grunding, Whirlpool, Hotpoint, Indesit.
The current phase is characterized by a weak market demand, which has been decreasing significantly for two years and due to a significant increase in costs also caused by difficulties in the supply chain. Consequently we are witnessing a contraction in both volumes with plant saturations of less than 50% with a tendency to decline, with a further reduction in margins.
THE AGGRESSIVITY OF THE CHINESE
It is also very competition from Asian producers is aggressive, especially Chinese. For the next five years finally, only a slight growth in the household appliances market is expected. Starting from April 1st, the study and evaluation phase of both the product lines and the factories began, which unfortunately in 2024 will reach very low saturation levels; on the basis of this Beko imagines preparing an industrial plan by the autumn with the declared ambition of becoming the leading European manufacturer. «From the table we note that Beko Europe’s industrial strategic line has not emerged – says the union – and with the framework outlined the risk for the maintenance of the sites is high. It is not enough to grow in the market of low and medium range products.”
For these reasons Fim, Fiom, Uilm and UglM have asked to meet with the top management of Beko before the launch of the final industrial plan. «We want to assert the point of view and legitimate interests of the workers – the trade unions continue – offering collaboration on the condition that the new company opts for the relaunch of the sites and exclude traumatic actions of dismissal and closure, which too often accompany mergers. It is with regret that we note that the company management has clarified that the launch of the industrial plan is their responsibility and has not made any reference to production or investments to be allocated in Italy”.
THE GOVERNMENT DOES ITS PART
Finally, the unions ask the Government to maintain a strong focus on Beko/Whirlpool and, in addition to compliance with the requirements of the Golden Power, they ask to deploy resources to support the industry to help the sustainability of Italian production sites. «We have renewed the request for a sector table – they conclude Fim, Fiom, Uilm and UglM – to address the fundamental issues that today penalize us compared to other industrial powers to defend production and bring back some of those lost. On this basis the Mimit has made the commitment to reconvene us in September.”
