Fiat workers livid over Juventus’ blockbuster deal with Ronaldo

Fiat workers plan to strike over Juventus’ $131 million signing of Cristiano Ronaldo – saying the car company should be investing in its employees “rather than enriching only one,” according to reports.

The Italian soccer club is owned by the Agnelli family, which also has a 30 percent stake in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles through its holding company, Exor.

Livid employees with USB Union bashed the club’s four-year deal with the star Portuguese forward, whose record signing was announced Tuesday. 

“It is unacceptable that while the (owners) ask workers of FCA … for huge economic sacrifices for years, the same decide to spend hundreds of millions of euros for the purchase of a player,” the union said in a statement, according to Business Insider. “The owners should invest in car models that guarantee the future of thousands of people rather than enriching only one.”

Workers at the car company’s Melfi plant in southern Italy will walk off the job at 10 p.m. Sunday and remain on strike until 6 p.m. Tuesday, BBC News reported. 

The strike, however, will likely have a nominal impact – the factory is one of seven plants in Italy and USB doesn’t represent all of the workers there.

Serie A champions Juventus acquired Ronaldo, the World Cup captain of Portugal’s national team, from Real Madrid in one of the most expensive transfer deals of all time.

Juventus’ stock price surged almost 40 percent when the move was announced.