L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS o n l y s t e p p e d u p w h e n i t comes to meet the extraor- dinary needs of a country in distress, but also to show its very people, its workers and employees, they are truly cherished. One of the characteristics of Italian businesses is how, even when large, they tend to maintain a family feel to them, something that comes from decades of small scale production and an ubiqui- tous care for quality and tra- d i t i o n . I t d o e s n ' t , t h e n , strike as odd to know that one of Italy's largest family r u n b u s i n e s s e s , A l b a ' s Ferrero, decide to give a 7 5 0 e u r o b o n u s ( a r o u n d 800 USD) (for the moment covering the period between t h e 1 6 t h o f M a r c h t o t h e 24th of April, but likely to be extended in name of the new lockdown dates) to all employees who have been working though this hard p e r i o d . F e r r e r o h a s a l s o d o n a t e d m i l l i o n s t o t h e Protezione Civile. Another internationally famous Piedmontese com- pany, Lavazza, has been offering a monthly bonus of 250 euro (around 300 US) to the employees working t h r o u g h t h e c r i s i s , w h i l e L u x o t t i c a , t h e n a m e behind iconic Ray-Ban sun- glasses, decided to comple- ment state financial crisis p r o v i s i o n s f o r a l l t h e i r employees, so that they can still have a full salary. Last but not least, famous f r e s h p a s t a p r o d u c e r G i o v a n n i R a n a , known also in the US, decided to give a 25% pay raise to the 700 employees (including those working from home), who have been keeping alive p r o d u c t i o n a n d d e l i v e r y a c r o s s t h e w o r l d . R a n a ' s CEO, Gian Luca Rana, sta- t e d t h a t t h e c o m p a n y " w a n t s t o b e b e s i d e i t s employees to support them and their families in this incredibly uncertain times." This is war, they say. And indeed, just like during the war, people come together to give all they can for the welfare, health and safety of their country. It is hard to digest, that this is wartime, but it's reassuring to know our values of solidarity and love, sometimes neglected, e v e n t r a m p l e d u p o n i n name of success and rev- enue, are still alive and kick- ing. Continued from page 4 A selection of Ferrero chocolate: the famous Piedmontese company decided to reward its employees during these times of emergency (Photo: Dreamstime). Lavazza's most famous coffee, Qualità Rossa. Just like Ferrero, Lavazza supports financially its employees during the Covid-19 crisis

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