Fiat to Cut 5.000 Jobs in Italy

The job cuts are going to be announced at the end of April, when he company will unveil its 2010-2014 strategic plan. The layoffs will affect 15 percent of the 30.000 workers employed in Italian assembly lines.

According to La Repubblica sources, an extra 2,000 to 2,500 workers could lose their jobs at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Fiat’s biggest plant in Italy, and another 500 at the Pomigliano plant, bringing total layoffs to 5,000. The company dismissed the report as “absolutely premature and groundless”. Fiat, that acquired 20% of the U.S. carmaker Chrysler shares last year to expand its international presence, is already planning to lay off 1,500 workers at Sicily’s Termini Imerese plant, scheduled to close on Dec. 31, 2010, and a further 500 at the Cassino plant. Fiat employs over 80.000 people in Italy and 190.000 worldwide.