MILAN — Fiat Group says problems with supply from components maker Selmat Automotive SpA has forced it to halt production at plants in Italy, Spain and Serbia.
"Monday morning saw the Officine Maserati plant in Grugliasco [Italy] forced to halt production as a result of the failure of Selmat Group to meet its supply obligations," Fiat said in a statement released yesterday. "Those supply shortages also resulted in stoppages at the Fiat Automobiles plant in Serbia and the Iveco plant in Madrid, [Spain], where activities have been shut down since Friday."
Other plants are also at risk of having to halt activities in the next few days, adds the Italian car giant.
"This serious situation, which has now remained unresolved for some time, clearly gives cause for concern for the future of the relationship between Fiat and the supplier and the inevitable consequences for workers," says Fiat.
Several thousand workers are being affected by the issue.
Privately owned Selmat is also based in Italy and counts Fiat and Fiat Industrial as two of its biggest customers. It has annual sales of 130 million euros ($168 million) and last month it acquired Top Plastics Italy, another Fiat supplier.
Selmat did not respond when contacted by European Plastics News but CEO Enzo Macceronne told Dow Jones that he denied the allegations, and that his company is still delivering to Fiat.