Rome (dpa) - The government has asked troubled Alitalia airline to come up with a "detailed" industrial plan in the coming weeks, Italy‘s industry ministry said in a statement issued Monday.The plan must be "agreed to by shareholders, banks, and institutional financial creditors," the statement said. Layoffs will only be discussed once the industrial plan is in place, according to the statement released after Industry Minister Carlo Calenda and Transport Minister Graziano Delrio met Alitalia‘s management and creditors.Alitalia is expected to lose 500 million euros (530 million dollars) this year after posting losses of 450 million euros in 2016, with management planning to lay off anywhere between 1,640 and 4,000 staff, according to Sole 24 Ore Italian business paper. The Alitalia board on December 22 gave the green light to a seven-point business plan that included "reducing manpower numbers to create the ‘right size, right shape‘ for the business.""No final decisions on staff reductions have yet been taken," CEO Cramer Ball said in a company statement at the time. Alitalia has been in crisis since the 1990s, and has not made a profit since 2002. It was rescued a year ago by United Arab Emirates carrier Etihad, which bought a 49-per-cent stake in it and which is aiming to return it to profitability by 2017. The remaining 51 per cent is owned by Italian shareholders, led by UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo banks.Alitalia says on its website it has a fleet of 122 aircraft. An Alitalia spokeswoman told dpa Monday the company employs "approximately" 12,500 people, including flight and ground crews and administrative staff.
