Finnish marine and energy equipment manufacturer Wärtsilä has announced plans to shut down production in the Italian city of Trieste.
The company said that the manufacturing of 4-stroke engines will be moved to Vaasa, in the west of Finland, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
The Trieste plant closure is expected to lead to about 450 redundancies, the company noted, with annual cost savings of approximately 35 million euros by 2025.
Wärtsilä has started negotiations with employee representatives, as well as Italian authorities, about the planned closure.
In the company's statement, President and CEO of Wärtsilä Håkan Agnevall said the decision to centralise production in Vaasa is part of the company's wider strategy to strengthen its competitiveness.
The company's President of Marine Power, Roger Holm, added that Wärtsilä will continue to operate a unit in Italy, but will focus on research and development and other areas, rather than production.