Tavares's comments to media on Italy 'bizarre' - Meloni

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 5 - Premier Giorgia Meloni on Monday described as "bizarre" comments made by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in an interview to Bloomberg criticising Italy for not doing enough to protect jobs in car manufacturing and saying it needed to incentivize electric-car purchases.
    "What I read seemed quite bizarre to me, we are always available and open to whatever creates jobs," Meloni told reporters in Tokyo, adding that she had not read the interview itself but only "statements".
    "If you then think it is better to produce where labour costs less, you are free to do so," she added.
    "The CEO of a large company should know that incentives cannot be aimed at just one company and that we have invested in eco-incentives," said Meloni.
    On Thursday Tavares told Bloomberg that Pomigliano and the historic Mirafiori factory in Turin would face serious cuts in employment levels unless the carmaker got major subsidies for making electric cars in Italy.
    He also said Italy should do more to protect its jobs in the automotive sector instead of attacking Stellantis for producing less.
    "This is a scapegoat in an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the fact that if you don't give subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, you put plants in Italy at risk," he said.
    Last month Meloni slammed the group formed in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group for failing to act in the country's interests in relation to the production of its Fiat models and other historic Italian brands.
    "If you want to sell cars on the international market by advertising them as Italian jewels, then those cars must be produced in Italy," insisted Meloni.
    Since taking office in autumn 2022, the Meloni government has insisted on the need to reverse the decline in car production in Italy in recent years, particularly by getting Stellantis to bring manufacturing back to the country. (ANSA).