Workers, MEPs, Ministers and Trade Unions from across Europe demonstrated at iconic Italian car manufacturer in call to alter course on decades of failed industrial policy.
From Turin to Valencia to Brussels, car manufacturers are closing their shutters. Many of these companies are turning a profit, so why are automotive workers facing this crisis?
This morning, 21 March, MEPs from The Left, political leaders from across Europe including Italy’s Giuseppe Conte and Nicola Fratoianni, Spain’s Minister of Labour Yolanda Diaz, Trade Unions and civil society organisations, organised a demonstration at the Stellantis factory in Mirafiori, Turin. The Stellantis factory is known for decades of manufacturing Fiat cars and is an icon of the European automotive industry, but is in need of new measures to keep the lights on.
The automotive crisis is general across Europe. In Germany, Volkswagen is threatening to close at least three factories. In Italy, Stellantis’ production registered an unprecedented fall of around 40% in 2024, with 50 000 jobs threatened in the industry. France’s automotive sector has shrunk by 44% since 2004, and in Spain Valencia’s Ford factory plans to lay off 1 600 workers.
Pasquale Tridico (Movimento 5 Stelle, Italy) said: “The resources allocated by the European Commission to the action plan for the automotive industry are grossly inadequate: €3.8 billion compared to the €800 billion earmarked for the arms industry. We will gather in Turin, in front of the gates of Mirafiori – the historic factory that was once Fiat and is now Stellantis – to champion a different vision for Europe. If we are to save the car industry and protect thousands of jobs, a new European fund, modeled after the SURE program, is essential to support the sector.”
Marc Botenga (PTB, Belgium) said: “The closure of Audi Brussels proves that leaving strategic industries to private companies leads to disaster. A profitable, carbon-neutral factory with highly skilled workers was shut down because management prioritised short-term profits over long-term sustainability. Europe doesn’t have a ‘green transition’ problem, it has a corporate greed problem. What we need instead is public investment and public control over key industries and the energy sector. We need an industrial strategy that puts workers and climate first, not corporate shareholders.”
Estrella Galán (Sumar, Spain) said: “We know that the automotive sector crisis is a reality affecting all of Europe, with relocations, closures, and halts to production. It’s a difficult situation, but also an opportunity. If Europe acts decisively, this crisis can be the driving force behind a new, green and socially just industrial policy.”
