Filosa, the new boss of Stellantis, is finally going to do what Tavares never dared.

On October 20, Antonio Filosa, appointed a few months ago to head the Stellantisis about to take a step that his predecessor Carlos Tavares never dared to take: bringing together all the Italian automotive unions around the same table for a direct discussion on the group's industrial future in Italy. An unprecedented initiative that could mark a turning point. For years, tensions have been mounting between Stellantis and the unions, against a backdrop of the group's gradual disengagement from the peninsula.

Explosive social climate

The figures speak for themselves: according to a Fiom survey, between 2020 and 2024, the Stellantis workforce in Italy will fall from 37,288 to 27,632 employees, representing over 9,600 net departures. More than 60 % of the remaining employees now depend on social shock absorbers, while domestic car and engine production has collapsed, whether for the Fiat, Alfa Romeo or Maserati brands. Lancia is currently only produced in Spain.

At the same time, strategic models have migrated abroad: Fiat 600 and Alfa Romeo Junior in Poland, Fiat Grande Panda in Serbia, Lancia Ypsilon in Spain, Fiat Topolino in Morocco. Italy, long the cradle of the group, is now confined to a few niche productions. The only real novelties are the return of the Fiat 500 hybrid at Mirafiori and, next year, the Lancia Gamma at Melfi.

Faced with this situation, the pressure has been turned up a notch. The Fiom, through its General Secretary Michele De Palma, had recently threatened to launch a general mobilization if no sign of openness came from management.

Filosa goes against Tavares' grain

It was against this backdrop that Filosa took a symbolic decision: to respond to the unions' call and organize a first official meeting in Turin, with all the sector's representative organizations.

"We've been waiting for this since he was appointed," commented Ferdinando Uliano, General Secretary of the Fim. For the Uilm union, expectations are clear: to obtain the assignment of hybrid models to Italian plants, to relaunch engine production at Termoli, to give visibility to Melfi and Mirafiori, and finally to clarify the future of Maserati in Modena. At Cassino, the plant is currently limited to Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio models, which are struggling to saturate installed capacity.

The moment of truth

Filosa's "political act" is seen as a break with the Tavares era, during which social dialogue in Italy was rare. At the time, the former boss had steered the Group primarily through a logic of cost reduction and site rationalization, even if this meant sacrificing the historical weight of the peninsula. The last time Carlos Tavares was seen publicly in Italy was at the for the launch of the Alfa Romeo Milanoand for Fiat's 125th anniversary in July 2024.

By accepting an open discussion, Filosa has distinguished itself and is trying to restore a climate of trust. But the expectations are immense: to save jobs, to give a clear mission back to the factories, and to defend the role of the Italian automotive industry within the framework of European regulations. October 20 could therefore be a pivotal moment. If Filosa succeeds in laying the foundations of a "pact" with the unions, he will be sending out a strong signal: that of a willingness to rebalance Stellantis' strategy in favor of Italy.