Electrolux pauses Italy restructuring plan

ROME, June 15 (Reuters) - Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux has agreed to pause a restructuring plan for Italy foreseeing mass layoffs and a factory closure, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Monday. 

• The pledges were made at a meeting in Rome with unions and Italian government officials, which Urso chaired.

• Electrolux did not make any official comment after the meeting.

• Urso said in a statement that the objective was now to draft a new plan "based on investment, innovation, the protection of factories and the safeguarding of jobs.” He said the government was ready to offer support for it.

• Electrolux told unions last month it was planning to dismiss more than 1,700 out of around 4,500 employees and shut one of its five factories in Italy.

• The company "has declared its willingness to continue discussions with the aim of identifying alternative measures" to job cuts and plant closures, but reiterated that it faces tough market conditions, the USB union said in a statement on Monday.

• Electrolux has struggled with weak consumer demand and competition from lower-priced rivals from China, and its share price has plunged by about 75% compared to its 2021 highs.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Keith Weir)