Italian auto group Fiat could shut plants in Austria, Britain, Germany and Italy as part of its plans to take over General Motors' European operations, a German newspaper reported today.
Quoting from a proposal it said had been presented by Fiat to the German government, the Handelsblatt daily listed five factories that could be shut down and three others that would have their capacity reduced.
The list of shutdowns includes an Opel plant in Kaiserslautern in western Germany, two GM Europe plants in Luton in Britain and a factory in Graz in Austria, as well as two Fiat plants in Italy, the report said.
Plants that will see their capacity reduced are Zaragoza in Spain, Trollhaettan in Sweden and Antwerp in Belgium, it added.
On Tuesday, Fiat denied a separate report that said it planned to slash 18,000 jobs and close or scale down 10 factories in Europe.
Trade unions have voiced fears about Fiat's plans to create a global car giant from the remnants of General Motors in Europe and Chrysler.
