Auto parts maker Marelli to discuss Italian plant closure with unions

MILAN (Reuters) - Auto parts maker Marelli will consult unions on a plan announced this week to shut one of its plants producing components for internal combustion engines (ICE) hit by the transition to electric mobility, the unions said on Friday.

As a gesture of goodwill, the company said it had suspended until Oct. 3 the closure procedure for the plant, which is located in the town of Crevalcore in the northern region of Emilia Romagna and currently employs around 230 people.

A meeting is scheduled for that date involving the two sides and government representatives from the Industry and the Labour ministries, Marelli noted.

Unions, which called out workers in other Marelli plants across Italy in sympathy strikes on Friday, welcomed the move.

"This allows us to start the dialogue without a clock already ticking," they said in a statement.

"We want a discussion to reach a solution that ensures continued production and jobs at the Crevalcore site," they added.

Unions are particularly concerned that a closure of the factory could herald deeper job cuts across the supply chain as carmakers increasingly switch to producing electric vehicles.

The plant manufactures plastic components and processes aluminium components for ICEs.

Marelli, owned by private equity firm KKR, was created in 2019 after Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, sold its car parts unit Magneti Marelli. It employs some 7,300 people across Italy.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Writing by Keith Weir, Editing by Alvise Armellini and Andrea Ricci)