MILAN (Reuters) - Hundreds of workers producing Maserati cars at the Mirafiori plant in the northern Italian city of Turin will be placed on reduced hours contracts for the rest of the year, unions said on Wednesday.

The changes will affect a maximum of 968 workers on the Maserati line at the plant, owned by automaker Stellantis ( STLA ), and are a result of the timing of the transition to new models.

Such contracts are introduced in Italy when output falls and mean a cut in wages in exchange for part-time working.

Luigi Paone, general secretary of the Uilm union in Turin, said the "situation was getting ever more complicated for workers in the auto sector" in the city.

Stellantis ( STLA ) confirmed the plans for the Maserati workers. It has already scaled back operations at Mirafiori since February because of weak demand for its fully-electric Fiat 500 small car.