Reports: Berlusconi warns of Alitalia job cuts

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italian prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi believes Italian investors are ready to bid for ailing airline Alitalia -- but also warned that workers for the national airline faced job cuts, agencies report local media as saying.

Berlusconi made his comments the day after Alitalia was rescued with an emergency short-term loan of €300 million ($478 million) from the Italian government, a government official told CNN. The airline must return the money by the end of the year, the official added.

Speaking on Italian radio, according to The Associated Press, Berlusconi said that with Alitalia temporarily reprieved, Italian investors were now working on a proposed bid. But he added: "No one can guarantee that the number of workers will remain at present levels."

Outgoing Prime Minister Romano Prodi called Tuesday's loan "an act of responsibility" aimed at staving off bankruptcy and the possibility of thousands of lay-offs, according to Italian media reports.

Berlusconi, the former prime minister who won the post again earlier this month, had asked Prodi's government to approve the loan.

The government approved the loan after Air France-KLM pulled its bid to purchase the state-run airline. Alitalia had accepted an offer from the French-Dutch group, but union leaders blocked the sale.

The company's board of directors, at its April 8 meeting, "reiterated the company's need for substantial financial support," according to a press release.

As of February 29, Alitalia's books showed a €1.4 billion ($2.2 billion) debt, up nearly 7 percent from the end or January.

The airline, reportedly losing $1.6 million (€1 million) a day, had been warned by Italian aviation authorities that its flight license could be revoked if it failed to raise funds to meet obligations, including safety.

The outgoing Italian government has been trying to find a buyer for its 49.9 percent share of the airline for months, with Air France-KLM's offer was the last remaining on the table.

Announced on March 14, the Air France-KLM's offer valued Alitalia at $220 million (€139 million) and called for the layoff of 2,120 Alitalia employees. E-mail to a friend

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