Addressing trade unionists from across Italy, Judith Kirton-Darling, underlined that the current industrial slowdown is not just an economic downturn but a growing social crisis with far-reaching consequences for jobs, cohesion and democracy.
A deepening industrial slowdown across Europe
Judith Kirton-Darling pointed to clear signs of weakness in European industry, with capacity utilisation remaining below normal levels and demand, investment and confidence all lagging. The consequences are already visible, with more than 210,000 manufacturing jobs lost net across the EU in 2025 alone.
Italy has not been spared, with job losses mounting and workers facing increasing uncertainty. “This is not an abstract crisis,” she stressed. “It is factories at risk, supply chains breaking and workers losing secure, skilled jobs.”
She warned that economic insecurity is being exploited politically, posing risks to democratic stability and social cohesion across Europe.
Workers paying the price of the crisis
Judith Kirton-Darling highlighted how the burden of the crisis is being disproportionately placed on workers, who are “paying three times” through rising inflation, job insecurity and the threat of austerity.
At the same time, she criticised the persistence of inequalities, with some companies continuing to generate significant profits while workers absorb the shocks.
Sectoral pressures remain acute in key industries such as steel, automotive and chemicals, the latter particularly affected by high energy costs. Meanwhile, the impacts of inflation and industrial disruption are uneven across Europe, with Germany at the centre of recent manufacturing job losses and countries like Italy squeezed by both energy costs and weak investment.
EU response “too slow and too fragmented”
Judith Kirton-Darling acknowledged recent EU initiatives, including moves towards a stronger industrial policy framework, but warned that current measures fall short in scale, speed and ambition.
She criticised what she described as a “half toolbox” on energy and industrial support, alongside continued reliance on restrictive fiscal rules. This, she argued, risks deepening fragmentation within the EU, as only countries with sufficient fiscal space can intervene effectively.
A call for a real European industrial policy
Setting out industriAll Europe’s demands, Judith Kirton-Darling called for a major shift in approach, centred on:
• A strong European industrial policy based on investment and strategic development of key sectors
• Massive public investment, including a European investment plan and new instruments to protect jobs and support training
• Decisive action on energy, including reform of electricity markets and increased public coordination
• Social conditionality, ensuring that public support is tied to job protection, collective bargaining and reinvestment
• Fair distribution of costs, including measures such as windfall taxes and stronger wage growth
She emphasised that public funding must no longer come without conditions, insisting: “No more subsidies for layoffs or offshoring.”
Preventing deindustrialisation in Europe
Judith Kirton-Darling warned that without urgent action, Europe risks accelerating deindustrialisation, with investment relocating abroad, supply chains weakening and critical skills being lost.
“Deindustrialisation is not a future risk – it has already begun,” she cautioned.
“No transition without workers”
Concluding her intervention, Judith Kirton-Darling stressed that the green transition must go hand in hand with a strong industrial and social framework.
“This is a decisive decade,” she said. “The green transition must be an industrial transition – and it must be a social transition. Otherwise, it will fail.”
Reaffirming industriAll Europe’s core message, she closed with a clear call to action:
“No transition without workers. No Europe without industry.”