Exit strategy

Citing unsustainably high expenses, Italian car maker Fiat recently an-nounced it will pull out of Sicily, closing its plant in Termini Imerese by 2011. The 1,400 workers at the plant, which assembles the Lancia Ypsilon, face lay-offs. The Turin-based firm also said that it will close all of its plants in Italy for at least two weeks in late February and early March because of declining car sales. Unions have called on the government to help save Fiat jobs. In the meantime, officials have set up a task force to search for alternatives for the Sicilian plant, and Industry minister Claudio Scajola has said that he has already received nine offers for the facility.