Fiat-union clash comes hot on the heels of restructuring news

Company plans to ditch its Alfa Mito and Giulietta amid dispute with local union

Fiat is having an interesting week, in much the same way that the ancient Chinese curse supposedly damned you to live in interesting times. First it was reported that yet another major restructuring is underway at troubled Alfa Romeo.

This time around the new plan is to ditch entirely the compact hatchback duo of the Mito and Giulietta (above) and instead concentrate on a new range of rear-wheel drive saloons to rival the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series. There will also be a pair of new SUV models to take on the X3 and X5, and all the new models will share their structures and engines with Maserati. That would be big enough news but it has now emerged that Fiat is threatening to pull production of several key models from Italy following a dispute with the local FIOM union.

Fiat had tried to block FIOM’s representation at negotiations into more flexible working practices. Following a legal ruling in favour of FIOM, Fiat has now threatened to transfer production of upcoming new cars to the US and to its new factory in Serbia.