After being declared bankrupt in September 1999, Op Computer, a major Italian information technology company created from a division of Olivetti, has been bought by another Italian company, Finmek Spa. An agreement was signed with trade unions to reinstate the workers made redundant, and the production of computers was resumed in January 2000, with products still bearing the Olivetti trademark.
Download article in original language : IT0002142NIT.DOC
After being declared bankrupt in September 1999, Op Computer, a major Italian information technology company created from a division of Olivetti, has been bought by another Italian company, Finmek Spa. An agreement was signed with trade unions to reinstate the workers made redundant, and the production of computers was resumed in January 2000, with products still bearing the Olivetti trademark.
On 16 September 1999, Op Computer, the company which took over Olivetti's personal computer production plants, was declared bankrupt by the Ivrea court (IT9909127N). This entailed the closure of the plant at Scarmagnano (Turin) and the redundancy of 1,021 workers.
After the declaration of bankruptcy, Op Computer was bought by Finmek Spa, a private Italian company based in the Veneto region. A new company - Ics Information & Communication System- has been established to manage the plant, and had obtained the right to keep the Olivetti trademark on its products.
Around mid-November 1999, the metalworkers' federations - Fim, Fiom and Uilm- affiliated to the three main trade unions signed an agreement with the company's new owners that provides for the reinstatement of the 1,021 Op Computer workers over three years. About 100 workers (mainly designers, marketing and commercial assistants) were reinstated in December 1999 to plan the resumption of production. In January 2000, production was resumed to fill the orders placed before bankruptcy, and 50 more workers were reinstated to allow the production of 3,000 new computers. The reinstatement plan foresees the reinstatement of 15 blue-collar workers and three white-collar workers in February and of 20 blue-collar workers and five white-collar workers in March. The 208 workers placed on redundancy lists will take early retirement
The new owners are confident of succeeding, not least because there is the possibility of signing an agreement with Telecom, the Italian telecommunications group, for the production of large numbers of computers. Antonio Marino, of the Scarmagnano plant's Rsu union representative body, stressed the current enthusiasm of the workforce: "everyone is optimistic and willing to work."
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2000), Op Computer reopens, article.
