We haven’t left Ilva’s table yet. It was complete betrayal on Urso’s part. This is why we asked the prime minister to take the table and address what happened yesterday”, said the secretary general of Fim, Fiom and Uilm regarding what happened yesterday at Palazzo Chigi regarding the previous Ilva dispute. “We have been called to discuss the August conversion plan and they gave us the Ilva closure plan. A death plan. With 6,000 workers laid off,” said Uliano, Palombella and De Palma. “Last night Ilva’s negotiating table was broken. With what they said last night, we risk closing the group: we are talking about thousands of workers and the government did not include the budget law in investment. If we want to save Ilva and give it perspective, we need to set up an ad hoc company that also has a public presence, otherwise we risk a closure that we do not want to accept”, commented CGIL secretary general Maurizio Landini. A case, that of the former Ilva, “is emblematic: here we cannot blame others, they have been in government for three years”, added Landini. ‘There is no one who pretends to be worthy of Ilva. Currently there are no those who are an alternative to the State. The way to restore and relaunch Ilva through state intervention, he has to be an entrepreneur, he has to take responsibility for the restart of the Taranto factory and then see if there are private individuals involved”. So Fim, Fiom and Uilm secretaries Ferdinando Uliano, Rocco Palombella and Michele De Palma gathered at the Corso Trieste headquarters.
“So far only two offers have been submitted, from two American funds, one of which made a ridiculous offer of 1 euro. Yesterday Minister Urso told us that on Friday a ‘masked knight’ revealed himself, whose name due to confidentiality agreements was not revealed to us last night at the Palazzo Chigi table, but whose name we read today in the newspaper Confindustria”, they said
From CIG to new applicants: here is the 4-year plan
A “decarbonization plan” that will last for 4 years, or “in the shortest possible time, while maintaining continuity of production, thus allowing Italy to become the first European country to produce only steel”: this was Ilva’s previous plan presented by the government to the unions and announced by Fiom. A plan that includes, among other key points, an increase in the redundancy fund to 5,700 people, which will then reach 6,000 people, and negotiations with potential new foreign buyers who are currently conducting initial reconnaissance.
Here are the main points included in Ex Ilva’s plan:
ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS: in addition to Bedrock Industries and Flacks Group, confidentiality agreements were signed and access to data rooms was activated last week for other foreign operators to begin initial reconnaissance aimed at possible expressions of interest. The plan was to have a “positive meeting last Friday followed by a request for further clarification.”
OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT: from 15 November to February 2026 ADI will carry out maintenance interventions on AFO2, AFO4, Steelworks 2, Belt Train 2, Coke Gas Network and agglomeration. Environmental and maritime installation interventions are also planned. But from March 2026, further interventions will need to be made “hopefully by new buyers” including on AFO1 (if released).
SHORT CYCLE PLAN: from 15 November 2025, a new “short cycle” operational plan needs to be activated involving the remodulation of the company’s complex production structure. Starting January 1 2026, coking battery production will be stopped and starting mid-January 2026 there will be a changeover between AFO4 and AFO2 (only one blast furnace for approximately 20 days).
CIG WITH REVENUE ADDITION: “The remodulation of production activity, from November 15 to the end of December, will require increased use of redundancy payments, which will increase from 4,550 to approximately 5,700 units with revenue integration.
DRI FACTORY IN TARANTO WITHIN 4 YEARS: The government, with the support of the Puglia Region, so that the decarbonization plan can be implemented immediately, will guarantee the availability of the financial resources necessary for the realization of the investment in the DRI factory within 4 years. The government is trying to ensure that DRI plants and thermoelectric power plants receive gas supplies via land pipes, at competitive prices.
TARANTO TABLE: the table created in Mimit on 19 May made it possible to identify areas that could potentially be used for reindustrialization purposes (both internal and external around the former Ilva). For these areas “we are evaluating investment projects of more than 15 Italian and foreign companies, including major national players, whose projects can be implemented within 4 years” in various sectors.
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