Italy eyes better relations with Stellantis after automaker saves supplier jobs

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso announced a deal on Tuesday to avert 249 layoffs at suppliers to Stellantis, saying he hoped the breakthrough would help repair strained relations with the carmaker.

Stellantis and Italy's government have been at loggerheads for months, with politicians in Rome accusing Fiat's parent company and its CEO Carlos Tavares of neglecting historic Italian manufacturing sites and moving production abroad.

But a top Stellantis manager said on Monday, days after the sudden departure of Tavares, that he would present a clear plan to revive output in Italy at a meeting on the Italian automotive industry Urso is set to host on Dec. 17 in Rome.

On Tuesday, the minister said he brokered a deal whereby Stellantis agreed to extend a contract for another year with its logistics supplier Trasnova, which would otherwise have fired 97 people at the end of the month.

A further 152 jobs at two of Trasnova's subcontractors - Logitech and Tecnoservice - which were also set to be lost at the end of the year, have been saved thanks to the contract extension.

The deal "represents a concrete sign of responsibility at a crucial time for the automotive sector," Urso said. "I hope it will also mark the start of a new and productive path with Stellantis", he added.

In a separate statement, the Franco-Italian carmaker said it had acted responsibly and would continue its efforts to safeguard jobs at its Italian operations while dealing with the challenge of the electric transition.

Unions said the 12-month reprieve for the workers facing layoffs should be used to find longer-term solutions for the Italian auto sector, including at the meeting due to take place at Urso's ministry next week.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini Editing by Giselda Vagnoni and Mark Potter)