1,550 workers to keep their jobs in Fiat plant in Serbia

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Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke in Kragujevac to say 1,550 workers in Fiat's car factory in that Serbian town will keep their jobs, while 500 will be made redundant.

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"Those 500 people, including all vulnerable categories, which means pregnant women, mothers with children, the disabled and families in the process of in vitro fertilization, are safe and will receive 100 percent salary from July 1, and they have been receiving 65 percent so far because there was no significant manufacturing" Brnabic said at a press conference after a meeting with trade unions and representatives of Stellantis Group, of which Fiat Serbia is a part.

She added that the second category of approximately 1,000 people includes those needed to produce an electric vehicle that Stellantis will be manufacturing in Kragujevac.

Brnabic said that they will spend 18 to 24 months working in Stellantis factories in Slovakia, Poland, Italy and Germany, after which they are guaranteed a return to work in Kragujevac.

She added that if they are interested in spending that time working abroad, workers will be able to apply from tomorrow until the end of June, reports Tanjug.

On Friday, Brnabic spoke with representatives of trade unions and Fiat workers, when it transpired that all those who go abroad to work in other Fiat factories will have a guaranteed job on a future line for production of electric cars in Kragujevac.

It was announced then that the prime minister would continue talks with Stellantis concerning the amount of severance pay, as well as that she would come to Kragujevac.

A day before the talks with the prime minister, some Fiat workers gathered in front of the factory in Kragujevac, dissatisfied with the dynamic of resolving their status, but after the meeting with Brnabic, they said that they would postpone the protests until further notice.

Earlier, the prime minister said that there are about 500 redundant workers in Fiat, but that the Government of Serbia will fight to get the best possible severance pay for them and help them find new jobs. She explained that out of a total of 2,016 workers currently employed by Stellantis, 1,550 would be needed for production of electric cars, which will start in 2024.

(Telegraf Biznis)