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10.01.2003 MEETING WITH TOP MANAGEMENT IN PALERMO
A Fiat delegation, headed
by the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Alessandro Barberis met today at Palazzo
d’Orleans with the President of the Sicily Region, Mr. Salvatore Cuffaro,
and the Vice Minister of Economy, Mr. Gianfranco Micciché. The Mayor
of Termini Imerese, Mr. Luigi Purpi, also took part in the meeting.
The summit provided an opportunity
for a detailed analysis of the contents of the Framework Agreement signed
by the Government and Fiat in December 2002 at Palazzo Chigi at the Presidency
of Council of Ministers.
Upon a specific request by
Sicily’s President Mr. Cuffaro, Mr. Barberis underlined that the Termini
Imerese plant will maintain its mission as an important manufacturing hub
of Fiat Auto.
The meeting was also an occasion
to reaffirm that the agreement’s objective is the relaunch of Fiat Auto,
to be realized by means of significant investments in the development of
other models together with a plan to reduce operating and overhead costs.
The reduction of labor costs will be achieved by resorting to social shock
absorbers and temporary production shutdowns in certain plants, with the
prospect of resuming production within the end of 2003.
In particular, as regards
the Fiat Auto plant in Termini Imerese, the Chief Executive Officer of
the industrial Group reiterated the company’s firm intention to maintain
and improve the production capacity of the plant, and announced investments
amounting to 50 million euros in 2003.
Mr. Barberis confirmed that
the plant will resume production on two working shifts for 5 non-consecutive
weeks in the first quarter of 2003. Starting from April in coincidence
with the temporary production shutdown, a professional training plan will
be implemented jointly with the Sicilian region to train workers on the
production of the Punto Restyling and the new forms of work organization.
Mr. Cuffaro and Mr. Miccichè
agreed on the need to acknowledge the company’s interest in the future
of Termini Imerese, and announced that both the national and the regional
governments are willing to implement adequate measures aimed at ensuring
the competitiveness of such an important industrial area for Sicily and
the entire South of Italy.
The President of the Sicily
Region expressed his appreciation for the outcome of the meeting which
he defined as "very fruitful", and did not fail to point out the importance
of this absolutely new relationship with the company, to be considered
a strategic instrument for Termini Imerese’s future.
"The start-up of stable relations
between the Sicily Region and the Fiat top management will permit the identification
of programmatic and financial choices to foster the competitiveness of
the Termini Imerese industrial area," explained Mr. Cuffaro.
"Starting from September
2003 – continued Mr. Cuffaro – we have received ample assurance that the
capacity of the Punto restyling production line present in the plant will
be increased to produce 150 vehicles a day. In this way, the number of
employees to be made redundant will be reduced and the employment of the
entire workforce will be ensured. At the same time, resumption of production
at the local industries linked to car manufacturing will also be ensured
and we will pay the necessary attention to this issue in the forthcoming
meetings too." |
