Adding to the Fiat Group’s long list of troubles in Europe is the prolonged vehicle transporter strike in Italy. The company issued a statement today saying that it will temporarily suspend production at two plants in the country.
These include the Cassino plant (from March 27 to 29) and the Giambattista Vico plant in Pomigliano d’Arco (from March 26 to 27), where the all-important new Panda (currently being launched across Europe) is produced.
“The vehicle transporter strike involving only a minority of drivers’ associations, which has now been in effect for more than a month, is causing major disruption for the automotive sector in Italy,” Fiat said in a statement.
To make things worse, the company says it sees no solution to this problem in the immediate future.
“There are no signs of an end to this situation. Rather, it appears to be worsening with numerous incidents of violence including setting fire to vehicles, as well as threats and aggression toward drivers not participating in the strike,” said Fiat.
Since the haulers’ strikes started, Fiat has had to halt production at all five plants it has in Italy at one point or another. The company warned that the situation is causing huge financial damages.
“As a result of the economic damage caused by this industrial action, the automotive sector in Italy, which has already suffered significantly from market conditions, is being pushed to breaking point,” said Fiat.
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