AIRLINES

Alitalia President Makes Acrimonious Exit: Renato Riverso, brought in two years ago to rescue Italy’s money-losing state airline, said in a letter to Milan financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore that he was stepping down after his relations with Alitalia’s owner, state holding company IRI, broke down. He said the carrier’s owners are shying away from making the heavy job cuts needed for its survival. Riverso painted a bleak picture of Alitalia’s current plight. “Alitalia is a firm which produces at high cost while its product is not recognized to be of high quality. Services on offer are not competitive while the world market is becoming ever more demanding and aggressive,” Riverso said in his resignation letter.