Italy's Tecnica Group had already announced a big cut in its staff, eliminating 118 of the 353 jobs at the company's headquarters at Giavera del Montello, but in the end, technically, it will not lay off any of them. Following four months of negotiations with the unions, 72 employees will be allocated unemployment benefits from the public redundancy fund, named “cassa integrazione,” and 46 will get “solidarity contracts,” which imply a reduction in working hours and wages. Public authorities have agreed for the moment to subsidize wages for four months, but the parties to the agreement are seeking a one-year extension. Meanwhile, officials of the Italian group decline to comment on a new round of rumors regarding its possible sale of its controlling stake in Lowa, the large and profitable outdoor shoe producer based in Germany. According to some of these rumors, one of the interested parties is an Asian investor, but there are apparently others.

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