By Giuseppe Fonte
ROME (Reuters) -Chipmaker STMicroelectronics moved on Thursday to reassure Italy of its commitment to the country as the Rome government puts pressure on the company’s chief executive to quit.
STMicro, in which the Italian and French governments own a combined 27.5% share through a holding company, employs 50,000 people worldwide and has been facing a sustained downturn in its key automotive and industrial markets.
At a meeting in Rome on Thursday, STMicro said that planned investments at facilities in Agrate in northern Italy and Catania in Sicily were confirmed, adding it would double production capacity at Agrate by 2027.
The group said it was ready to engage in “constructive talks” with Italian trade unions to avoid unilateral actions on job levels in the country, slides showed.
Italian trade unions have recently warned about more than 2,000 job cuts at STMicro’s facilities as part of a $300 million cost-cutting programme.
Rome is increasingly unhappy with STMicro Chief Executive Jean-Marc Chery and wants Paris to back its efforts to replace him.
In a sign of how serious the tensions are, STMicro’s supervisory board issued a statement on Thursday to deny any allegations of insider trading.
That came after Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italy’s economy minister, on Wednesday accused STMicro’s management in a news conference of having sold shares it held a day before reporting negative results in January.
“I ask for a new industrial plan that would put Italy back at the centre of the company’s development,” Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said during the meeting, according to his staff.
“Our goal is to pave the way for relevant investments and for a significant increase in employment levels in our country over time,” he added.
Italy also faces resistance over the appointment of Marcello Sala, a leading official at the economy ministry, as a member of STMicro’s supervisory board.
(Editing by Keith Weir)
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