San Benedetto, 120 layoffs in Scorzè: AI is only one of the reasons

San Benedetto has started a collective redundancy procedure for 120 employees at its Scorzè site, in the province of Venice. Among the reasons given by the company is greater use of artificial intelligence, but the list also includes rising energy costs, new European rules and two taxes, the Plastic tax and the Sugar tax.¹² The unions dispute the decision and argue that there are no economic difficulties that would justify it.²

What San Benedetto has announced

The 120 redundancies affect about 12% of the group’s 1,001 employees and concern only the Scorzè headquarters. The announcement, reported by Il Post on November 10, accompanies a reorganisation that provides for more artificial intelligence.¹² The procedure comes on the eve of negotiations for the renewal of the company-level collective agreement. According to the company, it would affect blue-collar workers and administrative staff evenly, and for 70 of the 120 workers it will seek to use voluntary exits.² The company says the cut is needed to keep the business competitive and to ensure its sustainability in the long term.²

What reasons the company gives

In its communication to the unions, the company points to rising production costs: raw materials, energy and transport, partly as a result of international geopolitical tensions.² It also cites changes to European legislation, in particular the rules on packaging, the deposit system and the obligation to use recycled plastic (rPET).² The internal reorganisation includes two measures: greater use of artificial intelligence and the outsourcing of some general services.²

Plastic tax and Sugar tax: where things stand

The company also points to the new tax obligations linked to the Plastic tax and the Sugar tax. However, neither tax has ever come into force in Italy.² They were introduced with the 2020 Budget Law and have been postponed many times. The 2027 Budget bill moves them from January 1 to July 1 of next year, the ninth postponement.² The technical report accompanying the budget measure estimates that this further delay will cost the State 316.2 million euros in revenue: 146.1 million from the Plastic tax and 170.1 million from the Sugar tax. The first applies to certain single-use plastic products, the second to sweetened soft drinks.²

What the unions say

Pierpaolo Piva, general secretary of Fai Cisl Venezia, described the news as completely unexpected. He recalled the positive performance of the last summer season for mineral water and soft drinks and said that San Benedetto had never recorded employment problems.² According to Piva, the reasons given to justify the downsizing “are beside the point”.² Cgil, Cisl and Uil consider the decision “serious and worrying”. In particular, they object that the costs of the production transformation and of the company’s strategic choices are being passed on to employees.² The trade unions have declared a state of agitation for all staff and called an assembly for November 17. They have also requested an urgent meeting with management to look for alternatives to the layoffs.²

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. San Benedetto ha annunciato 120 licenziamenti e una riorganizzazione che prevede maggiore ricorso all’intelligenza artificiale, Il Post, 2026-11-10 ↩ ↩²

2. Anche l’intelligenza artificiale tra le ragioni dei 120 licenziamenti di San Benedetto, Hardware Upgrade | il sito italiano sulla tecnologia, 2026-11-11 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵