Prada shortens temporary layoffs as orders rise

MILAN (Reuters Life!) - Italian fashion house Prada is shortening temporary suspensions for some workers by three weeks after orders for its spring/summer 2010 clothes exceeded expectations by 10 percent.

The Milan fashion group, whose designer Miuccia Prada is seen as a trailblazer worldwide for fashion, had signed an agreement with union workers a few weeks ago to put 250 from a plant of 3,000 into "cassa integrazione," according to newspaper reports.

The scheme allows Italians in large industrial firms to be sent home temporarily on reduced pay. The temporary, rotational measure was to last between four and six weeks, union members were quoted saying in the reports.

Prada said in a statement the workers at the Valdarno plant in Tuscany began returning to work on Monday.

"The company is extremely pleased to identify the first signs of the market's recovery that allow it to schedule a speedy return to full production," it said in the statement.

This contrasts with news from fellow Milan fashion house Versace, which said this week it was cutting about a quarter of its global workforce and expects to post a loss this year as the crisis hit demand for luxury goods.

(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Steve Addison)