Italian carmaker Fiat's long-awaited turnaround plan includes a plant closure in India and the trimming of truck-making facilities in Spain and Italy, a magazine said in an article to be published on Friday.

Italian Economy magazine also said in an advanced copy of the article that 120 of 700 administrative jobs at the cash-bleeding Fiat Auto unit would be cut.

Fiat, which is due to unveil the plan on June 26, declined to comment on the report.

Italian newspapers have reported it would include a rights issue worth between two billion and three billion euros and cost savings of 800 million euros ($931.3 million), which could mean job cuts in administrative departments.

Newspapers have also reported that Fiat and its major creditor banks may renegotiate terms of a three billion euro convertible loan extended last year on condition that the loss-making industrial group cut its net debt to three billion euros by early 2003.

Fiat's net debt jumped to 5.2 billion euros in the first quarter from 3.8 billion euros at the end of 2002, but Fiat has said it had met debt targets agreed with the creditors.

On Thursday, Fiat in a statement reiterated that it had met financial targets agreed with the banks, responding to its unions concerned about the group's debt level.

Financial sources said Fiat chief executive Giuseppe Morchio on Thursday met industry minister Antonio Marzano and heads of major creditor banks Intesa, Capitalia and Sanpaolo IMI and was expected to meet the chief executive of bank UniCredito soon.

Fiat shares closed up 0.6 per cent at 7.23 euros, outperforming a 1.7 per cent fall in the DJ Stoxx index for European carmakers, which it has underperformed by some 11 per cent so far this year.