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Fiat strikers blockade port
PALERMO, Italy -- Hundreds of Fiat workers have closed the Sicilian port of Palermo protesting against the ailing automaker's plans to lay off more than 8,000 employees. About 500 workers cut off the loading area at the port leaving 3,700 new cars produced at Fiat's Termini Imerese plant stranded on the dock ahead of delivery. Roberto Mastrosimone, a union representative, told the ANSA news agency: "We're taking our fight to Palermo's port to try to make the government understand the seriousness of our plight.
"We want to find out whose side the government is on." Fiat -- the maker of Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat models -- plans to lay off more than a fifth of its auto workforce to restore profitability. But it needs the Italian government to give it "crisis status" before it can implement the job cuts. On Sunday, Industry Minister Roberto Maroni told Italian newspapers the government would only help Fiat meet redundancy costs if the carmaker guaranteed all its workers facing temporary layoffs would eventually return to work. Maroni said the government had until November 25 to make a decision on whether to back the Fiat layoff plans. Once Europe's largest automaker, Fiat is expected to make a loss of 1 billion euros ($980 million) this year but executives are hoping to return the business back to profit by 2004. But Moody's Investors Service's threat on Friday to cut Fiat's debt ratings to "junk" status underscored the difficulties the automaker faces. The company has already cut 3,000 jobs as part of a do-or-die restructuring that could lead to its takeover by U.S. giant General Motors, which already owns 20 percent of Fiat Auto. Fiat has acknowledged the possibility of selling the company to GM if the operation continues to be off course by 2004, causing many fans to fear Ferrari, owned by Fiat for the past 35 years, could fall into American hands. Fiat used to account for about 60 percent of the Italian car market when it was relatively difficult to import models from abroad. But in October it grabbed just 29.2 percent of sales, up slightly from a historic low of 28.7 seen in September and June. On Friday, 20,000 workers marched through Termini Imerese to protest the threatened lay-offs, and 10,000 employees of another Fiat plant demonstrated in Turin -- the headquarters of the Fiat. Fiat shares were up 1.9 percent to 8.55 euros in midday Milan trading on Monday.
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