Post-Christmas turnaround, at least in words. Natuzzi is giving collaboration signals on its 2026/2028 industrial plan, which calls for 479 layoffs and the closure of the Altamura and Jesce 2 plants in Santeramo in Colle. This is what emerged from the meeting in Bari on January 9 at SEPAC (Economic Production System and Crisis Areas), which was also attended by the new president of the Puglia Region, Antonio Decaro. Natuzzi has committed to reviewing the plan, also evaluating the resumption of industrial investments, with the aim of making production activities sustainable, availing itself of the support of the Puglia Region through active labor policies and development tools.
Collaboration signals
The company’s founder and owner, Pasquale Natuzzi, sought to reassure workers and the local community. “We will certainly provide clarity to reassure everyone, first and foremost our employees”, he told TGR Puglia. We must resume dialogue and clarify any misunderstandings”. Natuzzi reiterated the group’s economic difficulties: after a turnover of €468 million in 2022, the company estimates revenue around €300 million for the current year, despite the opening of 60 new stores. “Customers are frightened by wars and uncertainties. The plan was not well understood or well communicated; there was a misunderstanding”, Natuzzi emphasized, reiterating the company’s ties to the local community. “Rest assured, the company is staying here: I have always considered it an asset of the community, not of the family or of Pasquale Natuzzi”.
Reshoring and job protection
The meeting was also attended by the mayor of Santeramo in Colle, Vincenzo Casone, and Giampietro Castano, MIMIT advisor for industrial conversion policies. In addition to Pasquale Natuzzi, the company was represented by director Enzo De Fusco and senior human resources managers, as well as the main national and regional trade unions. CGIL, Fillea, and Filcams Puglia acknowledged Natuzzi’s openness to dialogue, while reiterating a clear line: “No plant should be closed and no jobs should be lost”. The unions are calling for investment, the return of production from abroad, specifically from Romania, and the full utilization of the production capacity of Italian factories. “We are still waiting to hear the details of the industrial project”, they say, “but there is willingness to work together to get through this very delicate phase”.
Next steps
“The Natuzzi dispute isn’t just an industrial crisis”, Antonio Decaro pointed out, “but a piece of history for a community that, together with the company, has built a model for the South that is capable of growing and internationalizing”. Decaro reiterated the Region’s willingness to do its part to avert dramatic outcomes and ensure continuity of industrial and human experience. Technical discussions will be held in the coming days with Arpal, the Labor Section, and the Economic Development Department of the Puglia Region to define the new plan in detail. After the technical discussions, a new meeting is scheduled in the Region on January 27, followed by a meeting at MIMIT on February 4.
Read also:
