Turkish home appliance maker Beko to cut almost 2,000 jobs in Italy (updated)

Arcelik

20/11/2024 18:29

(Adds statements from trade unions, Beko in paragraphs 2-4)
       ROME, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Beko, the home appliances brand
owned by Turkey's Arcelik  ARCLK.IS , plans to cut almost 2,000
jobs in Italy, reducing its workforce in the country almost by
half, trade unions said on Wednesday.
    The company announced 1,935 redundancies, out of 4,440
employees in total, during a meeting hosted by Italy's industry
ministry, the Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Uglm unions said in a joint
statement. 
    Beko Europe confirmed the cuts, saying in a statement
Italian operations were "underperforming financially, as a
result of a challenging industry context, including increased
competition from players from Asia and weakened demand".
    It said factory utilisation rates, at under 40%, were
unsustainable, and added it would invest 110 million euros ($116
million) to reshape the company’s presence in Italy to create a
sustainable long-term footprint.
    The industry ministry said in a statement the plan put
forward by Beko's executives was not acceptable, adding the
government would use all means at its disposal to try to
safeguard jobs.
    The biggest planned cuts - 541 jobs - involve a fridge
factory in the northern province of Varese, where however three
production lines would be maintained. 
    Two other sites - a freezer factory in Siena and a plant for
washing machines and dryers in the central Marche region - are
set to close, with the loss of 610 jobs in total.
    Beko took on the Italian operations as part of its purchase
of Whirlpool's  WHR.N  European domestic appliances business,
which was approved last year by EU antitrust regulators. 

($1 = 0.9499 euros)

 (Reporting by Elisa Anzolin and Alvise Armellini, editing by
Keith Weir and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((alvise.armellini@thomsonreuters.com;))