Another major company may vanish soon, unless something changes, and unions will have played a major role in killing it. This time, it is the Italian flag carrier Alitalia which may not survive.  Alitalia hasn't made a euro of profit since 2002. It has suffered from all of the problems of legacy carriers, plus some others unique to the company (see below). But worst of all, Alitalia is world-renowned for the frequency and suddenness of strikes by its unionized employees. The Italian state announced that it wished to sell its 49% stake in Alitalia and has been conducting talks with interested parties. But the last serious suitor withdrew from talks yesterday, leaving the company without a taker. A leveraged buyout company remains, but this possibility is being discounted by industry observers. Air France/KLM, which owns a small percentage of stock and which once tried to form a broad partnership, is completely uninterested.Most people familiar with the situation agree that...(Read Full Post)