Why this Italian dairy plant only hires employees over 60

Roberto Brazzale can't help but put on a big smile when he speaks of his latest hires.

The Italian, who together with his two brothers runs one of the oldest dairy plants in the country known for mozzarella and parmesan cheese, has recently made headlines by taking what some would consider some unusual HR decisions.

When launching a new project to market more specialized gourmet butter products, Brazzale was looking to set up a dedicated team. But the handful of 30-somethings who came for a trial period all turned out to lack drive and energy, he says.

So he ended up giving the jobs to a couple of friends - all of whom are over 60 years old, creating a new team that he now describes as a gold mine.

"To me, they are all young in a way, because age counts for nothing compared to the energy and enthusiasm you can still have when you're over 60," he tells dpa.

The plant in the municipality of Zanè in the northern Italian region of Veneto is renowned for its mozzarella, Grana Padano or Scamorza cheese as well as other traditional dairy products. But when launching the new product line, Brazzale felt it was only natural to dare something different with the team as well.

And he says he never regretted the decision. On the contrary, his new employees bring everything a boss could hope for, he says, namely lots of energy, enthusiasm and above all experience.

"They have a completely different level of experience compared to the young people," Brazzale says. "They have understood how important the work is. When you're young, you don't understand that - you only understand that later," says the dairy boss, himself in his early 60s.

His new hires are mostly old acquaintances and friends. Most of them know each other from their school days or - as you would expect in a rural Italian community of 6,000 - from hanging out on Zanè's central piazza.

After high school, everyone went their own separate ways. Sandro, for example, worked as a gold dealer, Brazzale says, while Sonia and her husband ran a restaurant for a long time.

"We are all friends and know each other well," he stresses. "That's why the team spirit is much stronger."

Today, his team of oldies but goldies at the main site in Zanè is responsible for marketing speciality butters. Ugo drives a food truck, while Sonia, who like Brazzale once liked to skip school, takes care of the administration.

What might sound like a lucky - and slightly nepotistic - solution to one Italian entrepreneur's problem signals a wider serious issue plaguing Italian society.

Just like many western European countries, the homeland of pizza and pasta is struggling with an ageing population and declining birth rates.

The latest data from the statistics authority Istat shows that the number of births has fallen below the 400,000 mark for the first time since records began in the 19th century, at just under 393,000 in 2022.

Even Pope Francis has sounded alarm bells over the declining birth rates in Italy and Europe as a whole. When a woman asked him to bless her dog which she affectionately presented as her "baby," he complained that today's culture favours pets over children.

According to Istat, the latest births-to-deaths ratio stands at 7 births for every 12 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, leading the general population to steadily decline since 2014 to below 60 million.

Italy's right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni appointed a "birth minister" more than a year ago to tackle the trend which is expected to burden the economy in the long term.

With the effects perhaps most visible in schools and nurseries, the education minister recently warned that the number of pupils is set to decline by 1 million over the next decade.

Dairy entrepreneur Brazzale is well aware of these developments and the problems that they create for employers. But at the same time, he says, the way the older generation perceives itself has changed.

"Some believe that you have nothing more to say at 60. Or even that you just want to retire at this age. That's not true." Today's 60s are the new 40s, he says.

Brazzale can't stop raving about his new senior staff and never tires of praising their efforts which are unmatched by most young teams, he says.

He is not yet sure what he will do when his employees over 60 decide to retire after all. But for now, business is going well and the team is doing "bravissimi."