Italy's premier slams Stellantis over reduced Italian footprint since Peugeot-FiatChrysler tie-up
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is slamming carmaker Stellantis, accusing it of weakening Italy’s industrial footprint since the merger of FiatChrysler and Peugeot that created the world’s fourth largest auto maker
MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni slammed carmaker Stellantis, accusing it of weakening Italy’s industrial footprint since the merger of FiatChrysler and PSA Peugeot that created the world’s fourth largest auto maker.
As one of Italy’s top private sector employers, Fiat and its successors, FiatChrysler and then Stellantis, have always gotten government attention, but rarely have premiers been so pointed in their comments. Meloni also characterized the merger that created Stellantis in 2021 as a French takeover.
“We want to return to making 1 million vehicles a year with whomever wants to invest in the historic Italian excellence,’’ she said in a speech to parliament Wednesday.
Meloni cited figures that motor vehicle production in Italy had dropped from 1 million in 2017 to under 700,000 in 2022 and that Stellantis had slashed 7,000 jobs since the merger.
