Ristrutturazione occupazionale e transizione tecnologica nelle imprese italiane: sfide e opportunità del Contratto di espansione

Between 2019 and 2023, Italian firms restructuring their workforce in response to technological changes could implement the Contratto di espansione (CdE) by securing a union agreement at the company level. The CdE policy mix includes an early retirement scheme, a hiring plan, a training program, and access to the unemployment insurance fund (CIGS). This article analyses the CdE’s impact on the workforce, the restructuring process, and industrial relations at the company level by analysing CdE implementation in eight Italian firms: one energy company, three TLC companies, and four firms of the automotive industry. The analysis identifies two primary findings: first, a typology CdE’s implementation: Renewal, Reskilling, Downsizing, and Continuity. Second, the CdE’s impact is examined across three dimensions of employment restructuring: content, process, and stakeholders. Regarding the content, the CdE enables an integrated approach to restructuring; in terms of process, it either accelerates or redirects the previously established pathway. Lastly, the CdE empowers both company management and union representatives, strengthening company-level industrial relations.