Fiat Panda plant hibernating
2012-10-03 12:50
POMIGLIANO'S PANDA: Fiat's new Panda hatchback is built at the automaker's Pomigliano facility, which is being subjected to two-week shutdowns.
TURIN, Itlay - Italian automaker Fiat will stop production at one of its Italian plants for two more weeks at the end of October 2012, the automaker announced.
Fiat will place workers at Pomigliano, where it makes the Panda compact, on a temporary layoff scheme from October 29 to November 9, 2012m a company source said on Tuesday.
'CO-ORDINATED PLANT CLOSURES'
Fiat has sent workers home from many of its Italian plants on temporary layoffs during 2012 due to slack demand. At Pomigliano, workers will end a two-week layoff on October 5, 2012.
Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne said in September 2012 that the European auto market's five-year slump made it "more likely" there would be co-ordinated plant closures across the Continent.
However, he reassured unions he would not close factories in Italy despite a plunging domestic market.
Vehicle sales dropped further in austerity-hit France, Italy and Spain in September and European car executives have warned that a rebound may be years, rather than months, away.