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Reservations expressed over Alitalia – Etihad deal

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Reservations expressed over Alitalia – Etihad deal

Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo has stated it is not willing to invest in Alitalia if unions do not give their full support to the recently-finalized deal between Etihad and Alitalia, which will involve Etihad purchasing a 49% stake in the Italian flag carrier. The banking group is a shareholder in Alitalia as well as a creditor.

Intesa chairman Gianmaria Gros Pietro said: "For our part we have made our participation conditional on all problems posed by Etihad being resolved starting with agreements with the union.”

The airlines have been in talks since December, but Etihad's demands for up to 2,000 job cuts have met resistance.

Italian transport minister Maurizio Lupi stated that the government and unions expect to reach an agreement over jobs at Alitalia by the end of next week.

Lupi said: "We must agree by the end of next week, also because the chief executive of Etihad will be in Italy. By that date everyone must have taken on their own responsibility.”