Ferrari in the red?

Even Ferrari is feeling the pinch as it announces ten percent of its workforce will go.

Despite the news that 300 workers at Maranello will lose their jobs this week - that's ten percent of Ferrari's workforce - the Italian maker is talking down its difficulties. The redundancies come as Ferrari sales head south - with only 92 cars sold in November, down from a steady average of 600 per month. And in an echo of measures taken by the beleaguered Detroit Big Three, Ferrari's Maranello plant will be shut down for 20 days over Christmas.

It's an unusual situation, because while on one hand Ferrari simply isn't selling enough cars, on the other there's still a waiting list of up to two years for some of its most expensive models. A combination of factors has contributed to this oxymoron.

Firstly, the new California has diminished interest in the F430 - Ferrari's cheapest and core model - and sales have dropped substantially. At the same time, the higher-priced 612 Scaglietti and 599 Fiorano are simply no longer selling as top-end buyers ride out the credit crunch. In fact, Ferrari has moved the latter two models into a 'customisation' programme to divert attention away from the pitifully small sales numbers.

Still, the Italian maker remains exuberant, with a spokesman saying of the redundancies: "We are just being careful. Nobody knows the future anymore and even having a waiting list like ours doesn't guarantee anything for your future." Ferrari denies the credit crunch has affected it, claiming that the Christmas factory break is nothing more than a generous gesture to its employees - though it admits the contracts of 300 staff (all of whom are on one-year contracts) is "under review," and that it won't be taking any more staff on unless "they are crucial."

Mark Nichol