Italdesign Giugiaro says there will be no redundancies among its 800-strong workforce following today’s (25 May) news Volkswagen is to acquire 90% of the company.
The purchase – for an undisclosed price – will also see the Turin-based company gradually relinquish its relationships with other auto manufacturers such as BMW to design exclusively for Volkswagen.
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It is unclear whether or not headcount reduction was an element of the deal, but Italdesign moved swiftly to allay any redundancy fears among employees.
“There will be no redundancies and no-one will be fired,” an Italdesign Giugiaro spokesman in Turin told just-auto.
“VW Group assured us [we would] keep our freedom and identity – we will keep our creative independence.”
The spokesman added Italdesign would also retain its technical engineering departments and would continue to be based in Turin, as it turned its attention exclusively to Volkswagen.
“Giugiaro said it was a decision he took thinking of the opportunities looking to the market, which is becoming more and more global,” added the spokesman.
“Because we are a small company, we were fighting in such a big market – it could be a risk. They [Italdesign] decided not to mention the [acquisition] cost.
“Of course we have to fulfil the commitments we already have with companies around the world – BMW for example.”
The spokesman added Italdesign would progressively work across every brand in the Volkswagen Group.
The 90.1% stake in Italdesign Giugiaro will be acquired by Audi’s Italian subsidiary Lamborghini Holding, with the remainder staying with the Giugiaro family.
Relationships between both companies date back to the 1970s when they collaborated on the design of the first Golf.
Volkswagen was not immediately available for comment.
