Ericsson has launched a collective redundancy procedure in Genoa involving 131 employees. It is the highest number ever recorded at once in the city in the sector, following the cuts already announced in February 2025.
Giovanni Maria Paviera, CEO of Genova High Tech, the company managing the Erzelli Science and Technology Park, did not soften his assessment. “There is no denying that this is bad news and that the human and professional impact on the workers involved is significant,” he told la Repubblica. Regarding the nature of the decision, he added an element that directly concerns the hill: “Based on the information available so far, this does not appear to be a decision driven by a lack of confidence in the Genoa location or in Liguria, but rather part of a broader reorganization involving the closure or reduction of specific research and development activities at group level.”
On Tuesday, Genova High Tech will meet with the company’s management to understand its plans for the research facility. In parallel, discussions are underway with the Municipality and the Region. The goal, Paviera says, is to “safeguard expertise and maintain the scientific presence on the site.”
The people, and what the Park can do
The employees affected are “highly qualified, many of them young, with outstanding academic and technical backgrounds.” More than 2,000 people work at Erzelli every day, and the presence of fast-growing companies could provide new opportunities for these professionals. Genova High Tech is assessing potential opportunities for them within companies already based at the Park and will also evaluate the profiles it may be able to hire directly.
This is precisely the role the Park was created to play. “The Park’s goal is to act as a catalyst,” Paviera says.
Why development is moving forward
Asked whether Ericsson’s downsizing could put the Erzelli project into question, the answer was clear: “Absolutely not. The Park is driven by the dynamics of high-tech markets: some companies scale back, while others are born and expand.”
The example he cites is Generative Bionics, which began as an IIT spin-off on the hill and has since become an established industrial company that continues to grow and hire. In July, its humanoid robot Gene01 made its U.S. debut on stage at AMD Advancing AI 2026.
What’s on the agenda
New Polytechnic School. Construction of the new campus is progressing at a steady pace. “The university and scientific component will give the Park a decisive boost in the coming months,” Paviera says.
Hospital. The Region has extended the deadline for the tender to November 15, at the request of a private operator interested in the project. Paviera sees this as a sign of market interest. The integration of academia, the hospital and IIT’s research activities on the hill is what, in his words, “will make Erzelli a unique hub in Italy for computational medicine and biotechnology.”
Student housing. A plan for 500 beds is currently being finalized, with more than 70% to be managed as rental accommodation for students, researchers, faculty and staff connected to the university and hospital hub.
Cable car. By the end of the year, Genova High Tech will submit a formal project financing proposal to the Municipality. The system will depart from the new Genova Aeroporto-Erzelli railway station and reach the top of the hill in one minute and 57 seconds, with a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour in each direction, electric power, modular technology and an operating speed that can be adjusted according to traffic flows. Boarding will be facilitated for people with disabilities. It will be the link connecting the railway, the airport and the Park.
The timeline for major projects
“Large-scale urban regeneration projects require time and vision,” Paviera says, citing CityLife in Milan and the former Manifattura Tabacchi in Florence: areas that remained dormant for years and have now become the beating hearts of their respective cities. “Erzelli is entering precisely this phase of maturation, where completed works must now take the place of words and plans on paper.”
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