(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 8 - Pope Francis said Sunday he was "close" to the workers in an industrial dispute at Beko Europe which has announced nearly 2,000 redundancies at its three Italian plants.
    "I am close to the workers of Siena, Fabriano and Ascoli Piceno, who defend in solidarity the right to work, which is a right to dignity. May their jobs not be taken away, for economic or financial reasons", Francis said at the Angelus after receiving a delegation Saturday morning in the Vatican.
    The top management of the former Whirlpool Italian unit last month announced to unions the closure by the end of 2025 of the Beko Europe plants in Siena in Tuscany and Comunanza near Ascoli Piceno in Marche as well as the cold line in Cassinetta near Varese in Lombardy, with 1,935 redundancies in total.
    The closures and redundancies are expected to be included in the plan for Italy communicated by the Turkish multinational, an announcement that came after 12 years of redundancy payments between former Whirlpool and Beko Europe. (ANSA).