Thousands of Layoffs in Europe, Italy Among Hardest Hit Countries

The economic crisis is bringing major industries in Europe and America to their knees. The cold wind of mass layoffs has reached Italy: the home appliance company Beko Europe, formerly Whirlpool, acquired by the Turkish group Arçelik, announced the closure of two plants in Italy, in Siena and Comunanza (in the province of Ascoli Piceno), and a layoff plan that will affect 1935 workers out of a total of 4440 employees.

This drew sharp criticism from the Italian government, with Fausta Bergamotto (pictured), deputy minister of business and Made in Italy, saying the executive branch “would take all possible actions to make the Turkish parent company change its strategy.” Among other things, the Italian government intends to enforce the so-called “golden power” legislation, i.e. a set of Italian laws limiting the influence of foreign investors in companies and sectors considered strategic for the country.

New bitter problems also await workers in Germany and Great Britain: the American car company Ford announced that 14%, or about 4000 workers and technicians, of Ford employees in Europe will be laid off by 2027. The company attributed this decision to “the difficulties associated with the production and especially the sale of electric vehicles,” low demand from European customers, and the policies of the Old Continent governments on this issue, which Ford management considers incomprehensible and inefficient. Finally, a historic American car company is suffering from competition from Chinese electric cars.

The expected layoffs in Europe will affect just over 2% of Ford’s 174,000 employees worldwide and will mainly affect Germany and Great Britain, where 2900 and 800 employees will be laid off respectively. In particular, the German automobile sector is going through a serious crisis: even the largest German and European automobile company Volkswagen is planning to close three plants in Germany.