Job cuts loom as creditors corner Alitalia
Embattled airliner’s investors in ministerial meeting
Milan/Rome/Dubai — As the new Italian government of Paolo Gentiloni hammers away at a rescue plan for beleaguered lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, it is suddenly contending with another corporate crisis: the future of the airline Alitalia. Executives from key investor Etihad Airways and Alitalia — which went bankrupt in 2008 after rescue attempts involving the state and private investors failed, and which teetered on the brink of collapse in 2014 — met Italian ministers on Monday. Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda and Transport Minister Graziano Delrio asked Alitalia to put forward within weeks "a detailed industrial plan agreed to by shareholders, banks and creditor financial institutions", Calenda’s ministry said. Possible discussions over job levels would be tackled only after this, the ministers said. The executives had planned to discuss new restructuring measures, three people familiar with the discussions said before the meeting.
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