THE FATE OF FIAT WORKERS UNCERTAIN: Decrease in demand caused entire shift to be SHUT DOWN!
- We are continuing the negotiations with the company executives to hear what precisely are they offering and what models there are for voluntarily leaving the factory - said the union president Zoran Markovic
Company Fiat Chrysler automobiles Serbia informed yesterday the representatives of the factory workers union in Kragujevac that there is one shift "too many" because of the decrease in demand, and instructed that, after the vacation in August, the work in the factory should be organized into two shifts.
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The union president of FCA in Kragujevac Zoran Markovic said to the Beta agency that they were presented with the information by the director of the company Silvia Verneti.
- We are continuing the negotiations with the company executives to hear what precisely are they offering and what models there are for voluntarily leaving the factory - said the union president Zoran Markovic.
He said that the union took a "grim" news yesterday from the management, but he is not surprised because it is known that there is a decline in demand for vehicles in global market.
- We, however, expected government to react much sooner as they own 33% of the FCA capital, actually prime minister Aleksandar Vucic, whom we contacted 24 months ago to get into discussion with the company executives, which did not happen - said Markovic.
According to him, factory in Kragujevac has been working for four years in three shifts, and since it started manufacturing of model 500L, they make 645 vehicles daily.
- In the past two years there were breaks in work, because of the problems with suppliers or because of the decrease in vehicle demand, but this is the most serious problem so far for us - said Markovic.
In the report of FCA it is listed that the market of car sales in Europe has a small increase and that the model 500L has good results.
- The total demand for model 500L is stable, while it is anticipated that the volume of sales will remain the same in the next few years, strengthening the position and the results - said the company and added that they are ready to adapt its production capacities by conducting structural changes in the factory organizations, switching production from three into two shifts.
It is emphasized that the FCA, together with the workers union, dealing with voluntary leavings, which would be realized right away, "with the aim of minimizing the social impact on the employees".
FCA confirmed the dedication to the middle and long term plans in Serbia.
FCA company in Kragujevac employs around 3.200 workers.