Italian auto giant Fiat, under pressure to abandon any plan to move its headquarters to the United States, committed Saturday to invest 20 billion euros to produce 1.4 million vehicles in Italy. Meeting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and senior officials, angered over the possible headquarters transfer, top Fiat management confirmed the investment plan, a government statement said.
But the question of whether Fiat would remain based in its birthplace of Turin remained unclear, with local officials saying it had been put off for three years and would depend on the company's performance. "The Fiat president and chief executive, John Elkann and Sergio Marchionne, confirmed to the government their intention to pursue their development targets ... which envisage auto production rising from 650,000 vehicles to 1.4 million annually after an investment of some 20 billion euros ($27.2 billion)," the statement said.
"The government notes positively the position taken (by Fiat) and ... for its part confirms its willingness to bring about the best competitive conditions" in Italy, it added. Marchione has sharply criticised working practices in Italy, saying they put Fiat at a huge competitive disadvantage. On Monday, the government said Berlusconi would meet Marchionne on Saturday following the Fiat chief's controversial remarks that the auto maker could headquarter in the United States after a merger with Chrysler. Marchionne, who had assured workers earlier this month he had no immediate plans to merge Fiat with its American partner, said in San Francisco last week that the two groups could combine within three years into a company with US headquarters.
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