Alitalia in Rome govt talks on turnaround plan

Alitalia and its shareholders presented their latest business plan to Italy’s govt Monday, paving the way for crunch talks with unions over up to 2,000 job cuts that could decide the future of the struggling carrier. The Italian centre-left govt pledged support for efforts to turn around the airline but asked the carrier to finalise a plan before starting any talks over possible job cuts, playing down any immediate threat of layoffs. “Any discussion on employment levels will take place in a second stage, once the details of the industrial plan are defined along with a long-term project to relaunch the company,” Rome’s industry ministry said after hosting the meeting. The carrier approved Dec 22 a short-term financing deal and a new strategy, including job cuts, that allowed it to start negotiations with stakeholders. <br/>