Coperion Ferrara Closure: Council Backs 80 Workers as Dispute Escalates

Ferrara’s city council has unanimously backed employees threatened by the planned Coperion Ferrara closure, adding institutional pressure to a dispute involving approximately 80 jobs.

Coperion Italy has begun a collective redundancy procedure and is considering the permanent closure of its operations in Ferrara. The decision affects about 80 employees overall, including 77 people working at the site in Via Erasmo da Rotterdam, according to the latest information released by the Municipality of Ferrara.

The company’s announcement has caused particular concern because unions and local officials say the decision does not appear to stem from an immediate financial crisis. They report that the business is profitable, retains ongoing orders and employs highly specialised personnel.

Ferrara council unanimously supports Coperion employees

On 27 July 2026, Ferrara’s city council unanimously approved a motion supporting the affected workers.

The motion commits the mayor and municipal government to seek urgent coordination with the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, trade unions and company representatives. The stated objective is to examine every realistic option for preserving employment and preventing the closure.

The council also asked the local administration to monitor the dispute and keep councillors informed. Should the closure become unavoidable, the motion calls for a reindustrialisation plan capable of attracting new investment and supporting the re-employment of affected workers.

Mayor Alan Fabbri said Ferrara could not afford to lose 80 jobs and stressed the importance of protecting both employment and the specialist expertise developed at the site.

What the Ferrara operation does

The Ferrara facility is primarily an engineering and service centre rather than a conventional manufacturing plant.

Its employees work on the design, installation and servicing of systems used for material handling, feeding, weighing, extrusion and compounding. These technologies are used in industrial plants that process plastics, chemicals, food ingredients and other bulk materials.

The workforce includes engineers, administrative employees, commercial specialists, warehouse personnel and after-sales technicians. Local reporting describes the site as a highly specialised business with an average employee age of about 35.

The potential impact therefore extends beyond the direct loss of jobs. Local suppliers and service providers linked to the site could also be affected. Coperion Ferrara closure

Unions challenge the reasons for closure

Trade unions have called on Coperion to suspend the collective redundancy procedure and begin negotiations over possible alternatives.

According to Filctem Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and UilTuCs, the company has attributed the decision to a wider European reorganisation and to performance that allegedly falls short of the group’s long-term profitability objectives. The unions argue, however, that the latest available accounts show positive results and that the company continues to manage existing orders.

Union representatives have also criticised the apparent absence of a process to identify a buyer, transfer the business or bring in a new industrial partner.

This distinction is central to the dispute. A business can be profitable while still failing to meet the return targets set by an investor or parent group. However, workers and local institutions maintain that closing a viable operation without first considering a sale would unnecessarily destroy jobs, skills and productive capacity.

Closure could take six to nine months

The closure is not expected to be immediate.

Union statements indicate that Coperion intends to complete remaining orders over a period of approximately six to nine months. Employees could therefore be required to continue working on projects while the redundancy procedure and negotiations proceed.

This period may provide an opportunity for institutions and unions to request a revised industrial plan, seek expressions of interest from potential buyers or assess whether the Ferrara activities can continue under different ownership.

No agreement on such an alternative has yet been announced.

What happens next

The dispute is now moving beyond the company and trade unions.

The unanimous council motion opens the way for a coordinated institutional discussion involving the Municipality of Ferrara, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the national government. The immediate priorities will be to clarify the company’s industrial and financial reasoning, determine whether the redundancy procedure can be suspended and assess possible buyers or investors.

Until those discussions produce a concrete result, the future of the Coperion Ferrara operation and its workforce remains uncertain.

For employees, the central issue is not only redundancy compensation. It is whether an operation described by unions and local representatives as profitable, active and technically valuable can be preserved instead of dismantled.

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