ROME, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Italy's Industry Minister said on Wednesday he supported giving automaker Fiat the right to lay workers off temporarily.
"To say no to the suggestion of temporary lay-offs would mean to fire the workers," Industry Minister Antonio Marzano said on the sidelines of a meeting.
Crisis-struck Fiat has said it plans to lay off around 8,000 workers, with around 7,000 of those lay-offs categorised as temporary lay-offs under Italian employment law. The government has been debating whether to give Fiat "crisis status", giving it the right to temporarily lay off workers.