Fiat, Marchionne, fight Italian rumor mill
Fuel was added to the ongoing fire over Fiat’s future plans when some Italian news sources reported that Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company would be leaving Italy.
Fiat issued a denial: “Today, some press agencies have quoted in a partial and arbitrary manner statements that Fiat CEO, Sergio Marchionne, made yesterday in Washington in the presence of several Italian journalists including the correspondent of Radio 24.
“It was not, therefore, an exclusive interview.
“Mr. Marchionne’s word-for-word answer to a question posed by the journalist from Radio 24 that contained the words “leave Italy” was “Fiat is a multinational company. We manage business activities the world over. We run financial and industrial activities out of Italy and we sell cars in Brazil, China, the USA and Mexico. What is important is Fiat’s survival and this cannot be questioned. It took us 8 years to get the Group back on its feet. We have created an alternative with Chrysler and it cannot be questioned. If anyone thinks that he can influence Fiat, he is mistaken.”
“These statements were correctly reported last night by news agencies and this morning by the main newspapers, whose correspondents were present at the time.
“In short, Mr. Marchionne never mentioned leaving Italy.”
On another front, Marchionne issued a statement regarding claims made by some in the Italian labor movement after Fiat announced termination of existing labor contracts:
“The letter sent yesterday to trade unions in Italy was purely a technical formality to terminate existing company agreements, some of which had been in place since the 1970s. This results from our decision to leave Confindustria and, as such, was fully expected.
“Over the past few weeks, I announced publicly that all of our auto plants in Italy, with the exception of Termini Imerese, will have a precise mission and new product allocations and that, having avoided workforce reductions even during the worst point of the crisis, we have no intention of doing so now that we are working to achieve the conditions necessary to ensure future growth.
“I reiterate that our sole objective is to bring our manufacturing activities in Italy in line with standards necessary to compete internationally and ensure they are capable of competing with the best.
“Yesterday’s formal notification of our termination of existing company agreements sent to the Italian trade unions forms an integral part of the initiatives we are undertaking to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of our Italian manufacturing activities.
“First of all, it is necessary to replace long-standing agreements that are obsolete and incongruous with modern operating requirements and, at the same time, confirm Fiat’s commitment to establishing as rapidly as possible more up-to-date agreements with the trade unions that will ensure the flexibility and governability of our plants, as well as guaranteeing workers a better working environment and appropriate financial conditions.
“Our long-term objective is the Group’s development and we are moving in the only direction that will ensure the necessary competitive capabilities. We believe that continuing along this path is a very clear demonstration of our responsibility toward Fiat employees and toward the nation.”
