Due to the recession plaguing new cars sales, the workers of some of Fiat’s plants in Italy are being paid through a state-run program for workers on forced leave.
Thousands of European autoworkers whose jobs have been brought into question by a crisis that has sent car sales in the region plummeting to their lowest levels in decades are facing worst case scenarios as they have barely worked a few months in the last two years.
Still, some receive payments, as happens with those at Fiat Group. After shuttering a factory in Sicily in 2011, Fiat has avoided further closures and layoffs in its home country. Instead, it has left its five car factories there idle for extended periods to cut costs and prepare for an eventual recovery. Workers are paid to stay home.
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