Fiat Chrysler plans to resume production of Ducato light commercial vehicles at its Sevel plant in central Italy on 27 April, a week before a national lockdown imposed by the Rome government is due to end, unions told local media.
FCA intends to make use of a provision in Italy's lockdown laws that allows companies whose activity can be linked to sectors deemed "essential" by the government to reopen, Reuters reported.
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Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has told unions that it would seek permission to restart production from local authorities and would inform central government, basing its decision on Sevel's strategic role, unions said in a joint statement cited by the news agency.
An FCA spokesman confirmed to Reuters the carmaker aimed to reopen the Sevel plant on 27 April.
Unions said the decision to restart production at Sevel, which has been closed since mid-March like most of other FCA's facilities in Italy, will also mean restarting some components divisions at four other Italian plants.
Reuters noted the government recently clarified lockdown laws to say companies do not need to wait for local authority approval to go ahead with requests to reopen.
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By GlobalDataUnions also called on government to provide a prompt response to FCA's request to provide a guideline covering the automaker's numerous facilities spread across Italy.
Unions also requested meetings with FCA in the coming days to check that all agreed health and safety measures were in place.
