Thursday 10th October 2002

Fiat Flounders

Fiat is laying off 7,600 workers in addition to 3,000 it laid off recently. Fiat is also to ask the Italian Government to grant it a special 'crisis' status that would allow it's workers to get unemployment benefits whilst laid off.

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[B10]

Shame, UK has seen it before with BL etc. Only so much governments can do. Unfortuneatly there some good products from Alfa and Fiat. However all 3 brands are quite similar and the Italians have caught the British disease of disliking on principle anything home grown. That coupled with over capacity, some duff products, no US sales and poor sales in South America mean that the future is not bright.

[plotloss]

7,600 people probably earn about the same amount as Mr Fiat is piling into his F1 team every year...

Matt.

[thrust]

Fiat Auto and Ferrari are sister companies, both owned by Fiat SpA (I think I've got this right). The only one in trouble is Fiat Auto - who signed a deal whereby they can force GM to buy the remainder of the company (GM already own about 20% I think).

[gnomesmith]

I hope they can sort it out, I've never driven a Fiat product that didn't have a little Latin sparkle.

They could ask Bernie to buy Ferrari as a bail out, can you imagine the new supercars The Hull 560 and The Bernie Berlinetta.

Edited to replace suppercars with supercars, must be the smell of slowly baking pies!

>> Edited by gnomesmith on Friday 11th October 16:01

>> Edited by gnomesmith on Friday 11th October 16:25

[plotloss]

Yeah but the majority of Fiat and all of Ferrari are owned by the same bloke. He also owns another 100 odd companies making everything from washers to Space Shuttle components IIRC.

Matt.

[gnomesmith]

plotloss said: Yeah but the majority of Fiat and all of Ferrari are owned by the same bloke. He also owns another 100 odd companies making everything from washers to Space Shuttle components IIRC.

Matt.

And mail order Horses Heads.