Taranto, former Ilva contractor firms set collective layoffs back in motion

Aigi, the association representing contractor and supply-chain companies of the former Ilva plant in Taranto, has formally informed the unions of the resumption of collective layoff procedures. The notice comes after the Milan Court of Appeal’s civil division rejected the request for a stay, as we reported on September 12: the order requiring the shutdown of the hot area by October 28, 2026 remains in force.

The process had been frozen on September 8, during the hearing at Palazzo Chigi, pending a ruling by the Milan judges on the motion filed by Acciaierie d’Italia and Ilva under extraordinary administration. In the note sent to the trade unions, Aigi explains that the suspension had been decided “out of a sense of responsibility on the part of the companies.” With the underlying condition no longer applying — that is, the possibility that the closure order might be suspended pending the ruling — the companies resumed the process set out by law.

The scope indicated in the note involves 28 companies affiliated with Aigi and over 2,500 workers: these are the figures on which the reactivated procedure is based, and they are the same ones on which the process had halted on September 8.

The sequence of events explains why the situation of the supply chain is closely tied to the judicial decision in Milan. The contractor companies work on the plant’s production cycle: the shutdown of the hot area by October 28 reduces the volume of activity on which those contracts depend, and the stay would have pushed that deadline forward. The rejection on September 11 left the date unchanged, and the truce in the procedures — decided four days earlier, on a voluntary basis and not as the result of a public act — has ended.

Two separate appointments remain. The first is political: the meeting between the government and the unions has been rescheduled at Palazzo Chigi for September 15. The second is the deadline for the shutdown of the hot area, set for October 28 by the order confirmed by the Court of Appeal. Between the two there is a difference in nature worth keeping in mind: the meeting may produce commitments, income-support measures, and proposals for managing the transition, but it does not change the deadline established in the judicial proceedings.

Regarding the content of the Aigi note, the material available today is limited to the communication sent to the unions and the figures indicated: as of now, there are no specific schedules for opening the union talks required under the collective layoff procedures, nor a breakdown of the affected workers by individual company. Nor have there been any formal reactions from the trade union organizations that received the note: the newspaper will provide updates on these points when verifiable information becomes available.

The situation the unions will find on the table on September 15 has therefore changed compared with the suspension of September 8: the procedures are no longer suspended, the October 28 date is confirmed, and the number of supply-chain workers involved remains over 2,500.

Sources: Antenna Sud, TarantoToday, CosmoPolis (all three from the Aigi note to the unions: a single primary source); ANSA, from the Milan Court of Appeal’s ruling.