Fiat Workers, Police Clash Near Naples

Officers shoved protesters to clear the road, a police spokesman said. However, demonstrators said blows were delivered.

Police clashed with about 100 Fiat SpA auto workers protesting layoffs on Thursday and arrested seven for identification, police said.

The workers from the Fiat Auto plant at Pomigliano, near Naples, tried to block the A1 motorway, Italy's main north-south highway, as part of the protest.

Officers shoved protesters to clear the road, a police spokesman said. However, demonstrators said blows were delivered.

No injuries were reported.

Fiat, Europe's sixth-biggest car maker by unit sales, is cutting production in the face of weak demand.

Fiat said on Wednesday it would halt output at its Mirafiori plant at Turin for another two weeks in March, keeping about 5,000 workers at home.