More than 500 jobs at risk in Italy

ROME: More than 500 jobs are at risk in Italy after automaker Stellantis changed oil supplier from a local brand owned by Malaysia’s Petronas to France’s Total, a trade union said on Wednesday.

Stellantis was not immediately available for comment.

Petronas owns the Selenia brand of motor oils, an Italian supplier which was previously part of the Fiat group and marketed products including under the “Olio Fiat” name.

Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat-Chrysler with France’s PSA, maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars. The group also includes Opel and Jeep.

Selenia lost its “historic” supply contract with Stellantis after 112 years of production, the Uilm union said in a statement. The change resulted from the outcome of a competitive tender.

Petronas announced it in a meeting with employees, Uilm added, saying this compromised job security for 450 workers in Fiat’s hometown of Turin and 70 in Naples, in the south.

The union pledged to use “all available tools” to protect the Petronas workers and other auto suppliers who are “under heavy stress” due to Stellantis’ decisions.

Stellantis is Italy’s sole major automaker, and last year its production in the country fell to around 475,000 vehicles, the lowest level since 1956, the FIM-CISL union said in January.