AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 15 (UPI) -- Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said he would walk away from a deal with U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC if unions did not make concessions.
"Absolutely we are prepared to walk. There is no doubt in my mind," he said, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.
"We cannot commit to this organization unless we see light at the end of the tunnel," Marchionne said.
The U.S. government said it would cut off Chrysler's line of credit at the end of April if it did not reach a deal with Fiat. Presumably, the lost deal would send Chrysler into bankruptcy.
But, Marchionne told the Globe and Mail that the unions could not rely on precedent. "The minute you talk to me about historical entitlement in an organization that is technically bankrupt, it's a nonsensical discussion," he said.
Marchionne also said Fiat was "not anti-organized labor."
"No one wants to remove the UAW or the CAW from the table. But it will happen if a bankruptcy process drags on," he said, adding, "the UAW and the CAW have a unique opportunity here to change the framework of the discussion."
