Ducati to open a factory in Thailand, Italian workers worried

The Ducati Motor Holding company is not immune to globalization and expanding to new and larger markets and after decades of working solely in Italy, has decided to open a new facility in Thailand (work will start in the next few days).

The company will delocalize the final assembly stage of their motorcycles destined for the Asian markets in order to get around high import duties and taxes.

Italian unions and the local regional government are worried that this may be the first step in cutting down on the work force and closing down the Bologna factory with dire consequences also to the rest of the production chain, have asked for guarantees that this won’t happen.

Gabriele Del Torchio, Ducati’s CEO said he had no comment on the question, but according to Giancarlo Muzzarelli, the regional counciller for productive activities, who met with Del Torchio on Tuesday, said that Ducati has confirmed that they are going ahead with the Asian plant, while they have no intention of decreasing their presence on Italian territory.

Del Torchio left for Thailand on Wednesday to oversee the start of the new production unit, while further discussions will take place in January.