Fiat workers in stoppages over job-reduction plan

Employees staged work stoppages at the Fiat auto company's factories here to protest its plan to terminate 24,000 jobs over 18 months because of a recession in world sales. Negotiations between Fiat and the metalworker's union about the job reduction plan broke down with the union taking its case to the government and the management saying it would go ahead with dismissals. The union has proposed several ways to cut labor costs but management has rejected them as being inadequate.