GKN workers in Florence fight to take over ownership of their factory and win a worker-led transition

Site details 

Site name: GKN, Florence
Operator: GKN
Location: Florence, Tuscany
Country: Italy
Date: 2021-present day

Context

Driveline GKN Florence have produced axle shafts for luxury vehicles since the 1990’s. The site was first owned directly by Italy’s former automotive national champion FIAT (now Stellantis). In 1996 the factory was brought by GKN, and in 2018, GKN was taken over by Melrose Industries, an asset stripping company. In 2021, GKN announced they were closing the factory immediately and dismissing the entire workforce. In 2022  Francesco Borgomeo, ex GKN advisor, took over the factory, when it employed 500 workers.  

GKN is unique in the way its workers have organised collectively. Since 2008, GKN workers have been organised under an autonomous factory-wide collective, the ‘Collettivo di Fabbrica’, that operates independently but closely alongside official union recognition (with the metalworking union FIOM-CGIL).  

Emma Festini, from the GKN Solidarity Network said “The Trade Union organisation inside the factory was a very active collective for years.”

This came about after workers at the factory realised that struggles that were taking place elsewhere were receiving little attention. They decided that they needed a way to connect the factory to what was happening in other places, so that when there were disputes elsewhere, they would attend and show solidarity.

The Collectivo meets regularly to address contractual, organisational and political factory issues, encouraging broader worker participation and democratising union activities.  

The challenge

On 9th July 2021, workers received an email from the British management of Driveline GKN Florence, announcing the immediate closure of the factory and the dismissal of the entire workforce.1 The factory was then brought by Melrose, an asset stripping company, who tried to shut the factory. The workers responded by initiating a permanent assembly within the factory. The Collectivo organising framework proved essential during the major disputes that followed.

What workers did

Identify an alternative

In 2021, workers at the factory decided to begin their own project to take over management of the factory and equip it to produce low carbon, socially useful products, with plans to produce cargo bikes and solar panels. Massimo, an ex-GKN worker, described the project:

“...we have this reindustrialisation project which looks at renewable energy, at the ecological transition and at low carbon mobility, by making solar panels and cargo bikes, which are special pedal-assist electric bikes...So a truly all-green project that is almost 100% recyclable.”2

• 1  Insorgiamo // Notes From Below
• 2 GKN Florence: 3 years of permanent assembly, leading the way in bottom up worker led just transition - YouTube  

Mobilise allies

From the beginning, the GKN workers have received strong support from a network of activists, political and social organisations and social centres from across the Florence area.  

If there were disputes elsewhere, the GKN factory collective, would leave the factory and go to the dispute to show solidarity. They participated in the struggles of other workers with strikes, fundraising and a consistent presence at their pickets. 3

Even non-members were able to participate in the factory collective. This made it different to a traditional union, and the show of solidarity came back to them when they needed it.

This wider network has been organised into a support group called Insorgiamo con i lavoratori GKN (Lets rise up with the GKN workers) who have actively followed and backed the dispute at every stage.

In the autumn of 2023, another attempt at dismissals was launched to take effect on 1st Jan 2024. So a New Years Eve event was called, which was attended by 7,000 people. 2 days before, the courts had declared the dismissals as illegitimate, and they were therefore defeated. In May 2024, workers at the factory led a demonstration of 100,000 people, calling for public intervention by the Tuscany regional government to obtain the rights to the factory – and uniting numerous struggles at the same time, from Palestine to deaths at work to trans rights.

At another strike in July 2024, writer Christian Raimo spoke on stage and described the strike as “...not only part of the history of the workers movement, but it is part of the history of Italian culture.”  He continued “we recognise ourselves in a strike as indeed a very great moment of struggle but also of imagination.” 4 In October 2024, Greta Thunberg addressed approximately 500 delegates and offered her solidarity to the workers and the wider causes.  

• 3 Interview || “Insorgiamo" — History of Workers’ Militancy at Florence’s GKN Factory Collective • ISA
• 4 GKN Florence: 3 years of permanent assembly, leading the way in bottom up worker led just transition - YouTube

Legal action

The announcement of dismissals at GKN Florence were done so without following the required statutory procedures. The sectoral and company’s collective agreement sets out Trade Union consultation and information, whereby a 75 day notice period begins from the date of the announcement. Workers should still receive their salaries during this period, after which dismissals would become effective. Management’s disregard for these rules sparked the fightback against this decision. 5

Many workers have not received any pay since November 2022. To take possession of the factory, Italian law required for there to be an economic negotiation with the current owner. Whilst they didn’t have enough funds to buy out the current owner, they needed another private entity to make a purchase proposal to the new owner.

Call for support from government

Workers are proposing a law which gives the Tuscan regional government the ability to grant that a consortium, along with other entities, public and private, to come together and to promote an acquisition proposal. If the workers restart the factory as a cooperative, the Italian state must put capital into it, but the cooperative will remain under workers' control.  If the workers win, they will run the factory with an assembly of citizens, workers, climate and social movements. 6

Attract finance for their alternative vision

As of late 2024, the workers’ struggle is still ongoing. They have managed to build a global network of support and have, as of September 2024, raised 1,250,000 Euros in an attempt to attain legal ownership of the production facility.

Contributors are entitled to a vote in the assemblies which will determine the future trajectory of the plant.

At a meeting in October 2024, a 5 year plan was produced. The business plan has that of a non-hierarchical pay scale, where employees are paid broadly the same, whether they are producing goods or technical/admin office staff.  

How were obstacles overcome?

Research and development of new products

Establishing a vision for the future of the site has been challenging from a technical point of view, including both the transition to make climate compatible products (e.g. solar panels and cargo bikes) as well as using clean energy to power the means of production. Workers have initiated partnerships with researchers and academics for example through the Sant’ Anna University of Pisa to help guide them through this process as well as helping create a vision of what's possible in the future.

Company pushback

The current owner has continuously sought to extract as much capital as possible from the factory, and have also engaged in activity to sabotage workers’ protests.

During a Festival of the Working Class, held at the factory in April 2024 with over 5,000 attendees, the owners attempted to put a stop to the event by switching off the power to the site Workers took urgent action to keep the event going and moved it outside the factory with help from back-up generators, donated by fellow attendees at the event.  

Raising finance

The striking workers at GKN Florence are attempting to raise the funds needed to buy the factory. So far, these ambitious steps have succeeded to raise approximately half the required amount through redundancy payouts and cooperative financing. Recently, they’ve launched a 1 million Euro solidarity stake targeting support from social movements across Europe.  

Changing legislation

Workers are proposing a law which gives the Tuscan regional government the ability to grant a consortium, along with other entities, public and private, to come together and to promote an acquisition proposal. If the workers restart the factory as a cooperative, the Italian state must put capital into it, but the cooperative will remain under workers' control. If the workers win, they will run the factory with an assembly of citizens, workers, climate and social movements. 7

• 5  Insorgiamo // Notes From Below
• 6 GKN Workers start hunger strike for a worker-led transition in the most important struggle in Europe – In the global war between rich and poor,  
• 7 GKN Workers start hunger strike for a worker-led transition in the most important struggle in Europe – In the global war between rich and poor,  

What was the result?

Whilst their struggle is still ongoing, GKN Florence have surpassed the aim of 1 million Euros through their share scheme, and as of 30th September 2024, 1,250,000 euros has been raised. Contributors are now entitled to vote on the trajectory of the plant.  

Through individual donations and contributions from progressive associations as well as fund the promises made by other mutual aid, cooperative, and credit institutions, the plan going forwards revolves around 5 axes: 8

1. Production and marketing of solar panels;
2. Installation of photovoltaic panels;
3. Recycling of used photovoltaic panels;
4. Production and commercialisation of cargo-bikes, with the formation of a consortium for ‘light’ mobility to make up for the dispersion of small producers in the sector;
5. Provision of technical and administrative services to companies that will become part of the industrial network.

Success factors & lessons

Long-term solidarity and engagement offered a foundation for support: The success of the GKN workers’ organising began well before the plant's closure, rooted in their strong presence and solidarity within the local community. This prior engagement ensured immediate support when the crisis hit.

Technical expertise and collaboration are vital for viable alternatives: By involving technical researchers and specialists, the workers were able to create a feasible and future-oriented proposal that aligned with green energy goals and safeguarded jobs. Cross-disciplinary collaboration proved essential.

Broad-based and ongoing alliances amplify the movement: The GKN workers built coalitions with diverse groups—ranging from climate activists and students to labour unions and social justice movements—which helped attract widespread support and linked their cause to broader systemic struggles. 9 With the factory land under threat from commercial development, continued political engagement and public pressure are crucial to preserving it for sustainable, community-beneficial use.

Cooperative models require a multi-tiered strategy: Transitioning to a cooperative structure demands not only worker commitment but also a clear organisational framework, legal and financial backing, and a robust, sustainable business plan to ensure long-term viability.

Green industrial transformation is a rallying point: The vision of producing eco-friendly goods like cargo bikes and solar panels positioned the movement within the larger push for sustainable industry, attracting support from environmental and labour advocates alike. 

• 8 https://anticapitalistresistance.org/italian-exgkn-workers-fight-on/  
• 9 GKN Workers start hunger strike for a worker-led transition in the most important struggle in Europe – In the global war between rich and poor,