Tecnica Group has informed representatives of the 630 employees at its head office and factory at Giavera del Montello, near Montebelluna, that it will have to lay off between 60 and 70 of them because of the difficult situation in the snow sports market and in the world economy in general. The company began a year ago to place a similar number of workers on temporary layoffs, with their wages paid by public authorities, but the need to cut back the work force has become definitive.
Company officials point out that the group has been less affected than some other big producers of skis and ski boots because of its diversification into summer products through Lowa and Rollerblade, but still its turnover declined last year by between 10 and 15 percent to about €380 million, in spite of the acquisition of Blizzard. The group intends to invest more on the outdoor market, adding new ranges under the Tecnica and Dolomite brand names from 2010 on. It has also been pushing its new T-Shoes line of lifestyle footwear, starting with Italy and Germany.
On the other hand, Tecnica has been consolidating its operations in the last couple of years, closing Nordica’s former factory in Trevignano, which now houses Lotto, and starting up a new distribution center for all the product lines of the group. The planned layoffs will be made throughout the group, including production and the administrative and sales services.
Tecnica’s announcement has sent out shockwaves throughout the apparel and footwear industry in the Montebelluna region, where employment levels have declined considerably in the last 20 years. Just a few days later, 40 of the 52 remaining employees at San Giorgio’s former factory at nearby Maser announced that they were going on strike for 20 hours to back up their demands for higher severance payments than those proposed by the management. Salomon, which bought San Giorgio in 1993, told them three months ago that the operation will have to be phased out by the end of this year and that its activities will be transferred to France and Romania.
Many other local firms have closed in the past few years. A local manufacturer of bicycle forks, Italmanubri, is now moving into bankruptcy proceedings. The company had an annual turnover of about €22 million. Observers indicate that it had failed to pursue an efficient long-term brand-building policy.
