However, the move immediately caused controversy, with some politicians saying it was an offence to furloughed employees of the Italian-French-American auto group.
“Stellantis offering Maseratis at special prices to furloughed workers not only an insult, it also shows that it is a company in disarray and that Maserati is in a pitiful state,” said former industry minister Carlo Calenda.
Calenda is the leader of the centrist, opposition Azione party.
“Enough is enough,” he continued.
“[Giorgia] Meloni must summon [Stellantis chairman John] Elkann and [CEO Carlos] Tavares to the prime minister’s office.”
Marco Grimaldi, an MP for the Green-Left Alliance (AVS), was critical too.
“Have the management of Stellantis decided to take the path of lowly provocations as a way of handling union relations?” he asked.
“We ask this on the basis of the email sent by the company to all the workers employed on the Maserati line in Mirafiori…
“[They] were laid off in the first quarter of the year and then put on a solidarity contract with an 80 per cent reduction in their working hours until the end of the 2024.
“It is a joke that’s in very poor taste.
“We ask [Business] Minister [Adolfo] Urso to report on this in defence of the dignity of the workers because we do not accept this arrogance.”
ANSA
