Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who is also the CEO of Fiat Group SpA, said in his keynote address at the Automotive News World Congress Wednesday in Detroit that Fiat's decision to close a Sicilian operation is irrevocable. He also said that Chrysler-Fiat deal is a partnership in "the truest sense."
Stating the decision to shut the plant is "irreversible", Marchionne reasoned that the Italian car maker was losing money on every car it makes in that plant.
In a keynote speech, which was interrupted twice by protestors, Marchionne expressed his concern over governmental intervention in the European auto industry and recommended capacity cuts.
Marchionne called the Fiat-Chrysler partnership an "alliance forged in mutual opportunity." Detroit-based Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection last year, and has received over $14 billion from the U.S. and Canadian governments before and after its Chapter 11 restructuring. As the automaker exited government-backed bankruptcy, Fiat picked up about 20% stake.
Marchionne was named CEO of Chrysler in June last year and he remains the chief executive of Fiat since June 2004, a period during which Fiat's shares have risen nearly 80%.
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