Each worker buyout has its own unique characteristics, although they all share a common thread: the ability of the region and its people to reorganize. To transform a corporate default into an entrepreneurial success story. To transform oneself from an employee into a self-employed entrepreneur.
The WBO it is an action to rescue the company, or part of it, carried out by employees who take over ownership.
Cooperative business recovery after a corporate crisis or a failed generational turnover (also known as worker buyout, or WBO) has seen dozens of cases across the country in recent years, with hundreds of jobs preserved and production facilities remaining active. In both cases, workers affected by job losses have the opportunity to take the lead in restarting the business, or part of it, by leasing or taking over the business unit and establishing a worker cooperative to carry out this activity. This form of mutualistic self-employment is supported by public resources (Marcora Law) and by the mutual funds of cooperatives, which complement the cooperatives' capitalization with the resources invested by worker members through advance payments of authorized but not yet received social safety nets.
CISL, CGIL, UIL, Legacoop, Confcooperative, and AGCI of Ferrara signed the memorandum of understanding because they recognize the WBO instrument as an important form of active labor policy, which stimulates worker self-entrepreneurship and combines job recovery with the democratic form of cooperative enterprise.
These experiences have positive impacts on all involved, as well as on local communities. First and foremost, on the workers who, by forming a cooperative, safeguard their jobs and keep their businesses afloat. For local communities, it's a productive hub that remains open, generating economic benefits and tax revenue. For entrepreneurs without successors, it's an opportunity to see their businesses continue, passing on their lifelong efforts and sacrifices to the workers who shared them.
Effective and timely collaboration among the signatory organizations is essential for identifying potential cases of WBOs, just as joint support for the worker groups that form cooperatives is a priority. For these reasons, by signing a memorandum of understanding, the signatory organizations commit to joint action aimed at establishing new WBOs in the Ferrara area. The memorandum includes outreach to institutions to identify and promote the most appropriate economic and financial support tools, and ongoing dialogue with the relevant organizations to support the WBOs' implementation process.
The CISL of Ferrara always stands by the workers.
