Stellantis, unions agree 2,000 voluntary job cuts in Italy this year

MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis and unions signed an agreement to cut up to 2,000 workers from the carmaker's Italian operations this year through voluntary redundancies, workers' representatives said on Monday.

The redundancies amount to more than 4% of Stellantis' current workforce in Italy of around 47,000 people, FIM, UILM, Fismic, Uglm and Aqcfr unions said in a joint statement.

The plan only targets specific functions, in particular those not directly linked to line production, they said.

A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the agreement but had no further comment.

Incentives will vary based on seniority and proximity to retirement age, the unions added.

Employees aged 50 or over and at least four years below retirement age, who agree to leave, will receive 24 months of salary, for no less than 55,000 euros ($58,000), plus an extra 30,000 euros. Proposed packages will be smaller for younger workers, while office workers will also be offered relocation schemes, unions said.

The deal adds to at least two previous accords Stellantis and unions signed last year for more than 2,500 voluntary layoffs in Italy.

Leftist FIOM union, the only major metalworkers' union which has not signed the agreement, said in a separate statement that including the job losses announced on Monday, almost 7,000 jobs had been cut at Stellantis' Italian operations since 2021, when the group was formed through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA.

($1 = 0.9447 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Gianluca Semeraro, Kirsten Donovan)