ROME - FIAT Group SpA has for the first time shut down most of its Italian plants for a month, laying off nearly 50,000 workers for an extended holiday as it copes with the precipitous drop in demand for new autos.

The shutdowns through mid January affect 14 of Fiat's 20 Italian plants, and 48,000 blue collar workers out of its nearly 80,000-strong Italian work force.

Under the temporary layoff scheme, the government pays part of workers' salaries.

The Turin-based automaker also laid off workers for periods this fall as the world financial crisis engulfs the global auto industry.

The latest production slowdowns came as European car sales dropped 26 per cent in November. That includes a 30 per cent decrease in Fiat's key Italian market.

Fiat Group Automobiles said in a statement on Tuesday that despite the drop in sales, its European market share had improved slightly to 8.3 per cent, up from 8.2 per cent a year earlier.

Fiat said it sold 71,000 new cars in November, for 1.53 million cars in the first 11 months.

It did not provide comparative figures in the statement, but according to the Fiat Group website the automaker sold a total of 2.2 million cars and light commercial vehicles in 2007.

In all, Fiat has 178 plants and 185,000 workers worldwide.

Not affected for the moment are Italian plants involved in agriculture, construction and industrial vehicles. -- AP