Dear Reader,
Over the last couple of weeks Fiat has gone on a shopping spree. It aims to create a new European automobile giant. At the helm of Fiat is Sergio Marchionne, Fiat’s now legendary manager who saved the company from bankruptcy.
Fiat is controlled by the Agnelli family of Turin. It was them who handpicked Sig. Marchionne to save the sinking company back in 2005. The Economist wrote two different articles about Fiat’s recent acquisitions. In the first one titled “Pedal to the medal”, it portrays Marchionne as a trouble-shooter. It writes he is known to sort out problems, but question his ability to be an empire builder. The second article titled “The Italian solution” continues to question his ability to build a group. Towards the end of the article there is a quote from Marchionne in which he states he has no intention amassing power, but only to create a well functioning company. The article also notes Fiat is one of very few carmakers that has the financial and technological means to acquire GM Europe and Chrysler. The Economists’ articles present facts in an apparent objective manner. They do not predict the outcome of Fiat’s new venture, nor do they have any bias between the lines.
In Sweden there has been a lot of press about Fiat’s acquisition of GM Europe. Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s biggest daily newspaper, has unbiased presented the process from a Swedish perspective. GM Europe owns Saab, which is produced in Trollhättan. Saab was founded in the same city and was sold to GM in 1989. Leftwing newspapers in Sweden are more direct in their writing. They blame Wall Street and greedy American managers for Saab’s problems.
In Italy papers were first excited about Fiat’s expansions. However, now the focus is more on what will happen with Italian workers and where will the new Fiat be able to save through synergies. Il Corriere della Sera, a conservative paper, wrote in an editorial Marchionne needs to reassure Fiat will preserve Italian jobs. It is odd Corriere take such a pro worker stance. It is normally its rival La Repubblica, with a centre-left readership, which asks for corporate reassurances of Italian jobs. Corriere’s editorial might reflect a growing Italian fear of losing jobs to foreign countries.
