30 000 people, or about half of Fiat’s total number of staff in Italy, are to be affected by the decision to close 6 plants in Italy for two weeks, the first time all the plants have been closed at the same time. The reason given by the company is the “collapse in orders” since the end of the car scrappage scheme. Unions are seeking a meeting with both the government and Fiat management to discuss Fiat’s future amid ongoing concerns for the company’s Termini Imerese factory in Sicily which is due to close in a year and have its production transferred elsewhere in Italy.
Source: bbc.co.uk/22.02.2010