Fabriano (Ancona), September 9, 2026 – The gates of the Beko plant in Melano are once again becoming the forefront of a battle that affects the heart of the Marche industrial district. Yesterday morning, there were the tense faces of the workers, the composed anger of the blue-collar workers, and an entire community that refuses to see decades of manufacturing history slip away. The strike with a sit-in promoted by the Rsu and the Fim, Fiom, and Uilm unions has reignited the spotlight on a burning crisis.
Alongside the workforce, the Municipality of Fabriano made its voice heard with Mayor Daniela Ghergo, accompanied by several local mayors, as a testimony of a city that does not give up and demands strict respect for the agreements made.
At the center of the protest is the deep disappointment 16 months after the signing of the agreement at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit). An agreement born to guarantee stability and development, but which today presents a very bitter bill.
The workers: “Investments are slow to appear”
While the workers have done their part – recording over 90 voluntary exits at the Melano plant against the initially estimated 62 redundancies – the investments promised by Beko in product and innovation, about 62 million, “are slow to appear,” according to the unions. And September sees a heavy recourse to wage guarantee fund, with production capacity reduced to 60% and the total closure of the site from the 23rd to the 30th: a move that cuts employees’ paychecks by up to 400 euros per month and increases the workload for those who remain on duty.
For Giampiero Santoni (Fim Cisl), “the only thing that has worked so far are layoffs and wage guarantee fund.” “For the rest,” he adds, “only crumbs are seen regarding investments. We ask the institutions to unite to enforce the commitments.”
He is echoed by Pierpaolo Pullini (Fiom Cgil): “We signed the agreement to have investments and development. It is essential that politics supports us: we want to oppose a future made of work and dignity.”
The company’s version: Chinese competition and sector decline
The multinational has a different view. Company sources outline the structural crisis of the sector, between declining sales, Chinese competition, and the suffering of the induction market, but they remind that Melano remains the healthiest site among the group’s Italian plants. Maurizio Sberna, director of external relations at Beko Europe, specifies: “The unions’ concern is understandable, but the company has not stopped investing in Melano, quite the opposite. In a market context with declining sales, we have invested in processes to make the site more competitive. We will continue every effort to complete the industrial plan, with the necessary adjustments for economic-financial sustainability.”
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The investment figures
The investment figures will be announced only on October 1 at the ministry, but the company states that they exceed the 14 million indicated by the unions. Among the interventions carried out, there is also the new photovoltaic system co-financed by the Region.
The dispute has united political forces in a single defensive wall, albeit from different positions. The regional labor councilor, Tiziano Consoli, recalled: “Beko must respect the commitments made: agreements must be kept. As Ulpian said, pacta sunt servanda.”
The Pd secretary Schlein is also present
On the front line at the gates of Melano was also the Pd secretary, Elly Schlein, who highlighted: “It was important to stand alongside the workers because here 62 million in investments had been promised that have not arrived.”
“It is not acceptable that multinationals can come and do as they please in these territories, exploit them and then leave – she said further – especially if they have received public support. If someone thinks that the Fabriano district is expendable, we must build a wall and start seeing a future for the country’s manufacturing again.”
Also present Bugaro, Battistoni, and Biondi
Also present were the regional economic development councilor, Giacomo Bugaro (“in 2014 Renzi, then prime minister and Pd secretary, called the operation that brought Indesit to Whirlpool ‘fantastic’,” he jabs on social media after shaking hands with Schlein), regional councilors Mirella Battistoni (FdI) – who highlights the inconsistencies between layoffs made and wage guarantee fund – and Chiara Biondi (FI), who reiterates: “The dispute is not right or left, it is a battle for Fabriano and the territory.
The sacrifices asked of the workers have been respected, but now the prospects must come.” All eyes are on October 1, when the decisive verification table on the future of the plant will be held at Mimit.
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