A Fiat plant in Sicily stage a two-hour strike on Monday to protest lack of information over its should the Italian automaker link up with Germany's Opel and revamps its European production strategy.
The strike was at the Termini Imerese plant near Palermo where workers had just returned after a forced two-week lay-off due to low demand for the Lancia Ypsilon models produced there.
The plant employs over 2,200 people.
According to the local FIOM trade union leader, Roberto Mastrosimone, ''because of its economic, employment and social value, Fiat is an indispensable resource for Sicily''.
According to a version of Fiat's offer for Opel leaked to the press, the Termini Imerese plant would be either restructured for a different kind of production or shut down.
Although Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly said that he has no intention of closing plants in Germany or Italy should a partnership be negotiated, it is clear that production, and thus employment, will be reduced.
Italian and German unions are set to hold a powwow on future scenarios later this week and the Italian government has also said it intends to call Fiat management and union together to discuss Marchionne's plans.
Opel is currently part of the European arm of American automotive giant General Motors, together with Saab of Sweden.
GM has until the end of the month to present Washington with a major restructuring plan, if it wants further federal aid, and this is expected to include the sale of its European division, especially if the Detroit automaker files for bankruptcy protection.
Marchionne has already negotiated a partnership with Chrysler which will allow it to return to the American market and give the US carmaker Fiat's small-car and green technology.
By acquiring Opel, and possibly Saab, Marchionne would succeed in his goal of building a global automotive giant capable of selling six million cars a year and compete with Toyota and Volkswagen on the world market.
Marchionne, however, is seeking to do this without Fiat making any major cash investment. The deal with Chrysler hinges on Fiat offering its technology, while for Opel Marchionne wants loans from the German government and may even offer GM a stake in the enlarged Fiat.
Federal and regional governments in Germany said they would only consider offering loans once Opel is separate from GM.
Fiat's chief rival for Opel is Austrian-Canadian auto parts maker Magna International, which is reported to have joined forces with Russian carmaker GAZ and Russia's biggest bank, Sberbank.
