Italy's Fiat, which controls Chrysler Group LCC, will proceed with a ¤700 million ($886 million) investment to move production of its new Panda compact from Poland to a plant near Naples despite an unresolved dispute with an Italian union, AP quoted the automaker as announcing today. Fiat's project to repatriate production during a crippling crisis in the automotive industry risked failure due to resistance from one union that opposed conditions set by the automaker, including more flexible work hours and new mechanisms for resolving labor disputes at a plant plagued by absenteeism and low production. Even an endorsement of the plan by 62 percent of the plant's 5,200-strong work force in a referendum was not enough to guarantee a deal, due to the threat of disruption posed by dissenting workers. But Fiat SpA confirmed it was going ahead after CEO Sergio Marchionne met with the consenting unions on Friday. Those unions representing 83 percent of Pomigliano workers signed a deal in June backing Fiat's plans, with only the FIOM union holding out. Among the concessions sought by Fiat was the possibility to operate three shifts, six days a week. «The plan goes ahead, and we will be working with the unions who signed up for the deal to ensure we don't have any disruptions from those FIOM workers,» a Fiat spokesman said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss labor matters. The alternative would have been to close the plant, a politically difficult choice given Fiat's decision to close Sicily's Termini Imeresi plant next year and the ongoing economic crisis. But FIOM maintained its defiance, saying Fiat was tending toward unilateral and authoritarian action that threatens to destroy industrial relations. «This does not seem a useful way to confront problems created by the serious crisis we are facing,» FIOM said in a statement. Marchionne and Fiat Chairman John Elkann each issued statements calling for cooperation of all workers to ensure Fiat emerges from the crisis as a strong global competitor.
