Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein told Stellantis workers on Saturday that they are "notalone" amid uncertainty about the carmaker's commitment to Italy.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares recently said he cannot ensure the future of its Italian plants unless the carmaker gets major incentives to make electric cars.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann sough to attenuate the alarm caused by those comments, giving reassurances during subsequent meetings with Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, President Sergio Mattarella, and Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, among others.
But workers at Stellantis' historic Mirafiori plant in Turinhave been striking after the French-US-Italian group said it was furloughing workers there from Monday until the end of March, when the plant will stop producing the Maserati Levante SUV, and there are also fears about the prospects of the Pomiglianod'Arco plant near Naples.
"You are not alone, this is the message the Democratic Party wants to give you," Schlein said in a video message to workers at the plant in Pomigliano.
"The prospects of the Stellantis plant in Pomigliano are not a local matter, they are a national matter and part of the more complex picture regarding the future of a strategic sector for our country like the automobile industry".
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