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Embraco workers offered new jobs

ITALY: Most of the remaining workers at Embraco’s doomed Italian refrigeration compressor plant look set to be offered jobs with new employers.

Workers at the former Aspera factory in Riva di Chieri near Turin were told of its closure in January, with Embraco’s owner Whirlpool informing them that production was to be transferred to its plant in Slovakia. The workers and unions dogged fight to save the jobs of the 497 employees went all the way to the European parliament.

Italian minister of economic development minister Carlo Calenda has now announced that the workers jobs will be saved by new projects from two firms, who will take on the workers with the same rights and the same salaries, without any public money support.

The two companies are described by newspaper Corriere della Sera as an Israeli-Chinese joint venture looking to produce robots for the cleaning of photovoltaic panels and filters and Turin-based Astelav, a company selling spares for household appliances.

The Israeli-Chinese company is reported to have committed to hiring about 350 employees, while Astelav will employ 40. Another 70 employees have decided to leave the company in recent months using the incentives offered by Embraco.

The impact of delocalisation on workers and regions in the light of the recent Embraco case is set to be discussed in the European Parliament this week.

Just last month, Whirlpool announced the sale of Embraco, minus its Italian manufacturing plant, to Japanese company Nidec.

Related stories:

Whirlpool confirms Embraco sale – 24 April 2018
USA: Whirlpool has confirmed its intention to sell the Embraco compressor business to the Japanese Nidec Corporation, with the transaction expected to close in early 2019. Read more…

Embraco factory closure postponed – 4 March 2018
ITALY: Workers at the threatened Embraco refrigeration compressor factory in Riva di Chieri have received a postponement of redundancy until the end of the year. Read more…

Embraco workers take fight to Brussels – 27 February 2018
ITALY: A delegation of workers from Embraco will meet MEPs in Brussels tomorrow (Wednesday), as the closure of the Turin refrigeration compressor factory becomes a major election issue in Italy. Read more…

Embraco to close Italian factory – 16 January 2018
ITALY: Embraco has confirmed the closure of its Italian refrigeration compressor factory. Read more…

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