The company’s Recovery Plan is based on the following points:
- A series of targeted investments for both the South and North Areas. These investments will be achieved using internal financial resources, which will be made available partly through a programme to optimise internal and external processes and the rationalisation of industrial sites.
- A reorganisation of the company, grouping together similar activities by technology/product through Integrated Centres, and a restructuring of the production chain that enphasizes the centrality of the manufacturing process.
- The redefinition of engineering into three HDOs (Head of Design Organisation): Defence, Training Aircraft, Civil).
- The possibility of developing a new civil aircraft in partnership (South Area) as well as, of course, greater involvement, including in the engineering and production arenas, in the SuperJet 100 Programme, and the production ramp up of the air transport and regional (ATR) business. An international agreement, with a strong market focus, for the potential development of a new UAV (North Area).
To implement these initiatives aimed at increasing the company’s ability to respond to market demands and stay ahead of the competition, the company proposed a reorganisation plan to the unions that includes:
- Significant reduction of operating costs.
- Razionalizzation of the capital invested with the objective to create an increase in profitability and cash flow generation.
- Outsourcing activities that have low added value;
- Rebalancing human resources in both quantitative and qualitative terms. The HR restructuring plan, in accordance with the relevant statutory, offering solutions that aim to minimise the traumatic impact as regards employment. The plan will affect around 1,200 employees that will be accompanied with the retirement, up to 1,000 for whom will be used CIGS for the realization of the transfers correlated to the optimization of the facilities and around 500 who will be involved in outsourcing processes. In addition, approximately 500 new employees will be recruited.
Giuseppe Giordo, CEO of Alenia Aeronautica and Alenia Aermacchi, commented, “the Plan presented to the unions is the result of careful consideration of the complexities of the market analysed with regard to both the company’s internal operations and external factors. Our decisions must take into account the difficult global economic situation, the cuts being made to the major governments’ defence budgets and an increasingly competitive market both in terms of production and sales”. Giordo added, “We are confident that the initiatives undertaken and those presented to the unions today will relaunch the Group and enable it to tackle the future in the best way possible. We also hope that the Italian government will support us so as to enable Finmeccanica, and Italy, to maintain its capacity to design, produce, test and provide logistical support to a complete fixed-wing aircraft.”
The integration of Finmeccanica’s companies in the aeronautics business will be continued with the merger of Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronautica. This will create a single company with one name, one registered office and two operational sites, which will be the nerve centre of standardised aircraft operations (military/trainer aircraft and civil aircraft).
