PARIS/MILAN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Stellantis ( STLA )

will temporarily halt production at its Poissy plant in France

and Pomigliano in Italy, starting from the end of September and

for up to three weeks, because of weak market demand in Europe.

Production would be stopped in Pomigliano, near Naples, from

September 29 to October 6 for the Fiat Panda small car and from

the same date to October 10 for the Alfa Romeo Tonale mid-sized

SUV, Stellantis ( STLA ) said on Tuesday.

The plant's 3,800 workers will be put on furlough, it added

in a statement.

The announcement came after a spokesman for the automaker

told Reuters on Monday it was pausing operations in Poissy, west

of Paris, from October 13 to 31 "to adapt its production rate to

a difficult market in Europe".

Poissy, which employs 2,000 people, makes the DS3 and Opel

Mokka small SUVs. The plant will strive to manage its stocks as

effectively as possible before the end of the year and take the

opportunity to carry out work and schedule training courses, the

spokesman said.

Car registrations in Europe were broadly flat in the

January-July period versus a year earlier at around 7.9 million

units, while those of the Stellantis brands fell 8% to 1.19

million units in the same period.

Stellantis ( STLA ) said orders for the Alfa Romeo Tonale were also

impacted by tariffs in the U.S., a significant market for the

brand, while the decision to halt Panda production also

reflected plant optimisation needs, as orders from fleets and

rental companies tend to decline in the final part of the year.

"In this context, Stellantis ( STLA ) has chosen a cautious and

responsible approach, suspending production at the Pomigliano

plant for a limited period," the carmaker said.