[Italy] Avir - Job Cuts

Italy's Avir Group, an affiliate of US container glass leader O-I, has announced it will lay off 60 employees from a workforce of 156 at its plant at Castelmaggiore. Trade unions at the company said negotiations with management over a furnace rebuild costing several million euro had been in course for several months. However, on 12 October 2005, the company unexpectedly initiated the procedure to lay off staff. Workers reacted by voting for a 16 hour package of strike action.