Italy's transport minister says government should intervene over UniCredit job cuts

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's transport minister said on Thursday that planned job cuts at UniCredit were unacceptable, adding the government must intervene in the matter.

As part of its new business plan, announced on Tuesday, UniCredit said it would make a further 8,000 job cuts and close 500 branches, triggering the ire of unions in Italy, where 5,500 layoffs and up to 450 branch closures are expected.

"We cannot accept that companies which make profits in Italy announce redundancies without proposing any alternatives", Paola De Micheli told local radio Radio24.

"The government must summon UniCredit. We have the means to intervene", she added.

(reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Silvia Aloisi)