State-owned companies begin laying off employees

Two of the state-owned companies which will lay off employees due to the current crisis are the country’s largest energy supplier, Electrica, and the Combinatul Chimic Oltchim chemical plant. Electrica will lay off some 11 percent of its staff (2,000 employees) in 2009. The decision was made because 2009 is expected to bring a drop of up to 10 percent in energy consumption, and Electrica is trying to cut costs. “The restructuring process will take place in the Electrica Serv subsidiary, which currently has some 11,000 employees,” said Catalin Stancu, Electrica’s Corporate Business Manager. Transelectrica, another large state-owned player in the electricity field, is estimating a reduction of its 2,186 employees by 2 percent at the end of 2009. The Oltchim chemical complex has initiated a restructuring process in November, which includes the laying off of some 500 employees. The Romanian Post Office is also expected to lay off some 500 people.

To date, private companies have laid off some 15,000 employees, with a further 20,000 to be laid off temporarily.