Fiat Cars From Serbia

[stanmaxkolbe]

Fiat Cars From Serbia
liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/07/23/fiat-cars-from-serbia/?test=latestnews

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has decided to take production of one of Fiat’s new cars to Serbia from a plant near Turin in northern Italy.

The move has outraged Italian unions, and politicians of all stripes. “Fiat stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino,” said opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani of the Partito Democratico. “That’s our starting point.”

The center-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is struggling to get Fiat to keep its production at home. Cabinet Minister Roberto Calderoli of the Northern League, a party allied with Berlusconi, promised to put up a fight.

“Fiat in Serbia?” Calderoli asked. “That sounds like a joke, and perhaps it was made to make the unions more mild. But in any case, nobody’s laughing.”

Marchionne has clearly tired of tangling with Italian unions, especially after promising to bring back production of the economy model Panda from Poland to a plant known as Pomigliano, outside of Naples. While Fiat will make a major new investment at that factory, it comes only after wrangling concessions from some of the unions at Pomigliano, which has been notorious for low production and a high rate of absenteeism.

It was a bitter fight, and one influential union, the FIOM, has refused to agree to the Pomigliano deal. That could spell trouble when Panda production begins there, trouble Marchionne doesn’t want to risk anywhere else.

“It’s not true that Fiat is forgetting about Italy, because it is going ahead with Pomigliano,” said Alberto Mingardi of the Bruno Leoni Institute, a conservative think tank. “For years Italy stayed alive thanks to government help. That was very useful for decades, but now it’s a real multi-national and has a different kind of relationship with the government. If Fiat wants to go make cars in Serbia, neither the Prime Minister nor the mayor of Turin can tell them they shouldn’t.”

Fiat has already decided to close a plant in Sicily, not far from Palermo, and Marchionne is not endearing himself to Italian workers as he cuts costs and tries to keep Italy’s flagship car company competitive.

Read more: liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/07/23/fiat-cars-from-serbia/?test=latestnews#ixzz0ubjpUk34

 

[stanmaxkolbe]

On Fox News website the headline says; Auto Plant Moves To Serbia”—My first thought unions?

Yeah unions keep it up man; same thing happened to my company the union kept up demanding outrageous benefits the owner said the heck with this packed up and moved to Texas now Wisconsin has two hundred less jobs.

My oldest brother a mid-level GM big shot said the UAW in Michigan was doing the same thing packed up went to Mexico.

I have family in Michigan that will not work for $15.00 an hour complaining they would be underpaid—even though these people that are complaining are not skilled labor do not have any college some don’t even have a high school diploma!!!

However they do have that union attitude and demand to be paid $25 to $35 bucks an hour.

 

[josephdavid]

On Fox News website the headline says; Auto Plant Moves To Serbia”—My first thought unions?

Yeah unions keep it up man; same thing happened to my company the union kept up demanding outrageous benefits the owner said the heck with this packed up and moved to Texas now Wisconsin has two hundred less jobs.
.

And now there will be 200 people and their families and surrounding businesses who have lost their ability to contribute to the economy and loss of tax revenue. These are now 200 families that will probably become a continued strain onto the State and Federal government.

Greed by the Corporate Executives and unreasonable union bosses.

Complain all you want about those wages but those people bought cars, houses, TV, clothes, food, appliances, consumed ulitilties and paid taxes with those incomes. Careful what you wish for.

 

[stanmaxkolbe]

And now there will be 200 people and their families and surrounding businesses who have lost their ability to contribute to the economy and loss of tax revenue. These are now 200 families that will probably become a continued strain onto the State and Federal government.

Greed by the Corporate Executives and unreasonable union bosses.

Complain all you want about those wages but those people bought cars, houses, TV, clothes, food, appliances, consumed ulitilties and paid taxes with those incomes. Careful what you wish for.

Only in Wisconsin! Now there is 200 plus jobs in Central Texas that buy all that stuff and pay taxes and we are not forced to pay union dues to feed the Democratic Party or the Mafia.

Those union dues we keep to spend it the way we want too. We have benefits, profit sharing, medical, 401K plan etc…

Greedy union bosses; they can keep them! As for my company owner it is a family bussiness I can’t blame him from packing up and moving to Texas to get away from the union thumb.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Only in Wisconsin! Now there is 200 plus jobs in Central Texas that buy all that stuff and pay taxes and we are not forced to pay union dues to feed the Democratic Party or the Mafia.

Those union dues we keep to spend it the way we want too. We have benefits, profit sharing, medical, 401K plan etc…

Greedy union bosses; they can keep them! As for my company owner it is a family bussiness I can’t blame him from packing up and moving to Texas to get away from the union thumb.

Some of our local industries moved here to get away from unions in the upper Midwest. It has been very good for the economy, and the cost of living is low. I really do get the feeling that perhaps everything is inflated in areas where unions predominate.

 

[Cactus]

I can’t imagine that a new incarnation of the Yugo will be helpful for Fiat’s image.

 

[Dale_M]

I can’t imagine that a new incarnation of the Yugo will be helpful for Fiat’s image.

The Fiat car will be manufactured in the same plant which has been making the Yugo. So quality might be an issue, although at least the engineering will be better. And that plant will finally stop making Yugos (hurrah!). Apparently the Serbian government has been paying for a few thousands/year to be made, just to keep the plant open.

The Serbian workers will earn 1/3 what the Italian workers do. Fiat will also get a 10 year tax break from the Serbian government.
ft.com/cms/s/0/345545ba-966d-11df-9caa-00144feab49a.html

Fiat is struggling with the Italian unions to try to make Italian factories more efficient, a company wide plan called Fabbrica Italia. Quoting Fiat’s Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne “We will work with [the other] unions to bring Fabbrica Italia to completion, but Fiat cannot take unnecessary risks,” he said. “We need to ensure governability of the plant.” Fiat was preparing itself for any other disturbances that might occur, he said. “We will continue to look at alternative sites.”
online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100721-712118.html

Since Sergio Marchionne also heads Chrysler in the US, I wonder if this is any indication of things to come, here on this side of the Atlantic?

 

[didymus]

Fiat Cars From Serbia
liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/07/23/fiat-cars-from-serbia/?test=latestnews

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has decided to take production of one of Fiat’s new cars to Serbia from a plant near Turin in northern Italy.

The move has outraged Italian unions, and politicians of all stripes. “Fiat stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino,” said opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani

Bzzzt! Wrong!

FIAT = “Fix It Again, Tony” or “Futile Italian Attempt at Technology”

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

 

[Rolltide]

Once again, I present for everyone’s enjoyment…

Mary’s Fiat!

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Kaninchen]

The Fiat car will be manufactured in the same plant which has been making the Yugo.

You never know. Skoda (Czech) used to be greatly loved by stand-up comedians in Western Europe - then, with the fall of Communism, they got taken over by VW and modern Skodas are quite widely thought to be even more reliable than VWs themselves.

 

[Dale_M]

You never know. Skoda (Czech) used to be greatly loved by stand-up comedians in Western Europe - then, with the fall of Communism, they got taken over by VW and modern Skodas are quite widely thought to be even more reliable than VWs themselves.

That’s wonderful to hear. The smaller countries could use some economic help, and a reputation such as that can only encourage investment. Sometimes a different management can make all the difference.