Fiat to temporarily close plants due to strike

Italian automaker Fiat says it will temporarily close a couple of its plants in the country next week as a result of a monthlong strike by a key group of drivers that it warns is getting more tense.

Fiat said Friday that the Pomigliano plant near Naples that is making the new Panda subcompact will close next Monday and Tuesday, while another plant in southern Italy will be closed for three days next week.

A strike by drivers of the multitiered vehicles that transport cars against government measures that have raised fuel prices has forced Fiat to cut production and is hurting its market share.

Fiat says the strike is worsening, citing acts of intimidation against nonstriking drivers and fires set to vehicles.