Fiat’s Italian factories have been forced to shut down because they cannot get enough parts from a plant in southern Italy where workers are striking for better pay and shift patterns, a spokesman told Reuters on Friday.
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The modern Melfi plant in the poor region of Basilicata has long been seen as the jewel in Fiat’s crown, working on a “just in time” basis with suppliers based around it but workers have protested for a week, blocking roads around the factory and preventing parts made at Melfi from getting to other plants in Italy where the bulk of Fiat’s cars are made, the report said.
Fiat, deep into a rescue plan to tackle losses at its car division, reportedly said the disruption had led to the lost production of 12,000 vehicles so far.
“The impact is particularly severe as it comes at a time when Fiat is giving all its energy to relaunching the company in an increasingly difficult environment,” the industrial group said in a statement cited by Reuters.
Fiat on Friday met with representatives of unions not involved in the industrial dispute but the discussions were delayed in an attempt to include the workers behind the disruption, the statement reportedly said.
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By GlobalDataReuters said that Fiat on Thursday used a helicopter to airlift the remaining stockpile of parts to a nearby plant but most other factories were shut, forcing the carmaker to send workers home.
Fiat reportedly said it had offered to talk to union representatives but did not know when any meeting could be held.
Reuters noted that the Melfi strike is the latest in a series of problems which have hit Fiat’s supply line – earlier this month it had to stop making Punto and Idea cars because of a supplier problem at its Polish diesel engine plant.
The news agency said workers belonging to the Cgil-Fiom union went on strike at two of Melfi’s suppliers on Saturday 17 April, creating bottlenecks for parts needed and forcing production lines to stop. Other workers are now protesting against the closure, blocking roads.
The workers are asking for better organisation of their shifts and more money, Reuters added.
The news agency said Melfi, Fiat’s most efficient Italian plant, works six days a week but staff work five days, meaning their days and hours of work change each week, causing disruption to family life.
Unionists reportedly say that the difficulties are further exacerbated by the fact that Melfi is in the middle of an under-populated, mountainous area where many workers have to drive for up to two hours each way to get to work.
