Italian Government Worried Fiat May Leave Italy

Italy's Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato will meet with Sergio Marchionne next week to ensure that FiatFiatItaly, 1899 > present159 models
4864 photos
35 videos
Industrial will not be moving production outside the country. The company is considering moving its headquarters to the UK because of its merger with tractor maker CNH Global NV for more favorable taxes. 

Fiat Group is Italy's largest private employer, and the government is worried that portions of the company might move outside of Italy. There have been rumors that Fiat Group could move its headquarters to the United States if its proposed merger with Chrysler is ever successful. 

Unemployment in Italy is near a 20-year high, and the government wants to prevent any further losses that it can. 

Moving to the UK for Fiat Industrial and to the US for Fiat Group would mean significantly lower taxes for the company. It could roughly halve the amount the company pays in taxes.

The Italian domestic auto industry has been among the hardest hit in the European downturn. Even has the European auto market improved slightly last month, the Italian market was down 10.8%.

Source: Automotive News Europe