=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/08/31/f= inancial0837EDT0024.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, August 31, 2004 (AP) Italy's Alitalia pressures unions to accept restructuring plan (08-31) 05:37 PDT ROME (AP) -- Italy's struggling state carrier Alitalia met with labor unions Tuesday, trying to persuade them to accept a sweeping restructuring plan after announcing a further worsening of the airline's financial situation. Alitalia is holding a series of meetings with labor unions this week, pressuring them to agree a cost-cutting recovery plan expected to include slashing about a third of 22,000 jobs at the state-controlled carrier. The approval of the recovery plan would allow the company to access a $4= 88 million loan approved by the Italian government and the European Union. In a statement released Monday, Alitalia said that without the loan it only has sufficient funds to pay wages until the end of September, risking bankruptcy. On Tuesday Alitalia's shares hit a historic low on the Milan market at midmorning trading, down 30 percent from their price at the start of the year. In Monday's statement Alitalia said it had lost 331 million euros ($399 million) in the first six months of 2004 versus a loss of 347 million euros a year ago. The company's debt stood at 1.66 billion euros ($2 billion) at the end of June, up 220 euros ($265 million) since the end of 2003, the statement said. Alitalia has been struggling to stay aloft amid cutthroat competition fr= om discount carriers and consolidation among established players. The airline, which is 62 percent owned by the state, has posted an operating profit since 1998. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP