Del Torchio meets unions on Alitalia investment talks

Lupi dismisses reports of 3,000 airline job cuts

(ANSA) - Rome, April 23 - Gabriele Del Torchio, chief executive officer of troubled airline Alitalia,met with labour leaders to update unions on the status of a possible investment by Middle Eastern carrier Etihad, sources said Wednesday.

Del Torchio met with the leadership of trade confederations CGIL, CISL and the UIL after sessions Tuesday with Alitalia's board of directors about the deal, which would see Abu Dhabi-based Etihad invest about 500 million euros in cash-starved Alitalia, including a 300-million euros capital injection, in exchange for a 40% stake. The deal has been in the works for months which indicates the ongoing "skirmishes" on the road to reaching a deal, said Raffaele Bonanni, general secretary of the CSIL. Bonanni brushed off questions about possible layoffs and said talks are now focused on increasing intercontinental routes for Alitalia "to make a company that will really compete".

Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi also dismissed reports that a possible 3,000 layoffs at Alitalia have been demanded by Etihad as part of the deal. "I've never heard about 3,000 cuts," Lupi said Wednesday. Meanwhile, Premier Matteo Renzi said on his Twitter feed that a deal was still in play. "We anticipate a proposal from Etihad, then we will act accordingly," wrote Renzi.

Last week, Lupi revealed that Etihad had set further conditions on its possible investment in Alitalia, which has been anticipated for months but has stumbled over the amount of debt that Alitalia has on its books - about 800 million euros - as well as the size of the Italian carrier's workforce. Further clouding the deal have been complaints from competitors that could trigger European Commission concerns about ownership and control of European airlines as well as competition issues. The Gulf-based carrier has been drawn to Alitalia as it is vying to broaden its network in Europe. Etihad has been expanding aggressively into Europe, and Alitalia would give it a further foothold in a lucrative market.