Etihad aims to close the deal with Alitalia by the end of the month. The CEO of the Abu Dhabi company, James Hogan, said today, adding that “it will be a positive agreement for everyone. We have a team to be able to finalize the negotiations, however it is not possible to invest if I don't have a clear road map”.
According to Hogan, if the negotiations take longer than expected it won't be a problem, but the negotiations with the unions - the manager specified - concern Alitalia, which in any case "has a good relationship" with the social partners.
Words that come within hours of those of Maurizio Lupi, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, who clarified that the Alitalia-Etihad operation will continue even without the signature of the CGIL, the only union that has not yet given its willingness to sign the agreement. At the center of the dispute are the 2.251 redundancies requested by the Arab company, one of the conditions considered essential to give the green light to the investment.
In this respect, Hogan announced that the agreement, if it goes through, will provide new job opportunities, as part of the development envisaged by Etihad for the Italian company over the next four years.
The agreement, according to the CEO, will also allow for the strengthening of the two Milanese airports: "We want to reconstitute Linate and Malpensa", said Hogan.
