Natuzzi cites market pressure for cutting 1,700 staff
03/07/2013
The Italian company plans to invest EUR 190 million in product and process innovations, marketing and communications operations but is focusing on fewer factories in a bid to return to profitability.
The upholstered furniture district (Distretto del Mobile Imbottito) in Puglia and Basilicata has witnessed a decline in the number of companies from 520 in the early 2000s to 100 in 2012, while the district's workforce decreased from 14,000 to just 6,000, approximately 4,500 of whom were involved in the Natuzzi Group's operations. In recent years, the upholstered furniture industry in Italy has been heavily impacted by the effects of globalisation, increased pricing pressure from emerging countries and black market labour.
Natuzzi had been using a state-sponsored wage-subsidy scheme, designed to cope with temporary downturns, over the past year but it is due to expire in October.
It hopes to retain 2,789 jobs, consisting of 1,449 direct employees and approximately 1,340 indirect employees.
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