Factory collective ex-GKN | After four years: Squatted factory in Florence threatened with eviction

Just on the fourth anniversary of the factory occupation of a former automotive supplier, the situation for the ex-GKN factory collective is dramatically escalating: At the end of June, a tax court ordered the factory to be evacuated, as Cedric Büchling, part of a support network , reports to "nd." This step was preceded by the termination of approximately 120 remaining employment contracts. It was the third wave of layoffs – and the first to stand up in court.

Exactly four years ago, the first attempt to get rid of the workforce took place: On July 9, 2021, all GKN employees in Campi Bisenzio were given notice of termination overnight by email. The "Factory Collective," a union of workers founded years earlier, successfully took legal action and convened all employees for a permanent works meeting at the production site, which continues to this day. However, with the eviction order, its future is more uncertain than ever. There are many indications that the owner of the site is not interested in attracting another company to the site—but merely in real estate speculation.

A law passed by the Tuscan regional government in December 2024 offers hope for the factory collective, designed to counter precisely such speculators: It allows the establishment of publicly owned industrial consortia to promote the reindustrialization of closed production facilities , particularly by supporting workers' cooperatives.

This law could provide the legal basis for the factory collective's plan to produce cargo bikes and solar panels as a cooperative in Campi Bisenzio. With this plan, the workers have garnered considerable support in the region and throughout Europe. Many see the project as a model for the conversion of the fossil-fuel car industry, including in Germany. Bike production is already underway on a small scale; a cooperative, formerly GKN for Future, with share commitments totaling over one million euros is in the starting blocks, and the Italian cooperative bank Banca Etica has deemed a "reindustrialization concept" financially viable.

At the end of last week, the third municipality in the region decided to join the Florence Region Industrial Consortium, which could take over the former GKN factory and subsequently transfer it to the factory collective's cooperative. In mid-July, the City of Florence, the fourth and final municipality in the region, is expected to decide on its accession to this legal merger. The consortium's first shareholders' meeting is scheduled for August, and the factory collective hopes that a decision on the takeover will be made as soon as possible.

But what if the factory's evacuation comes first? Would it spell the end of the struggle for a transition from an auto supplier to a worker-owned cargo bike manufacturer? Not necessarily: The 40,000 square meter industrial site would initially remain unused, and the state government's law would therefore continue to apply. But, says Büchling: "In case of doubt, it might be necessary to find an alternative site."

Büchling believes it's unlikely that an eviction is imminent. At least not before the "big events" this weekend, for which he and many other supporters from across Europe will travel to Italy. He's referring to the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the occupation on Friday with numerous concerts in the heart of Florence. And the large cooperative meeting on Saturday.