Korean group will pay EUR 4,600 plus 1-year wages to employees at closed factory in Bucharest

The management of Romanian heavy machinery producer Doosan IMGB, part of South Korean group Doosan, has reached an agreement with the unions for closing down the industrial platform in Bucharest.

The IMGB plant, one of Romania’s industrial flagships during the communist period, could thus disappear after 57 years of operations. The industrial platform, where heavy machinery and metallic components weighing over 100 tons were produced, had over 13,000 employees in 1989. In 2018, the number of workers was down to 400, according to the latest public data.

“Over the past three weeks, the management of Doosan IMGB has discussed with the trade union representatives the compensatory measures for the employees that will be laid off following the operational closure of the company. The management ensured the employees of its entire support in finding new jobs and, as a consequence of the efforts conducted so far in this respect, the company already received multiple job offers from various manufacturers for the employees,” reads a statement sent by Doosan IMGB.

“In terms of compensatory salaries, the management and the employees’ representatives reached a settlement yesterday with good feelings. Employees will benefit from a fixed amount of money of RON 20,000 (EUR 4,150) and the basic salaries for a period of 12 months. In addition to this, the employees that have worked more than 25 years with the company will receive an additional amount representing 75% of the basic salary,” according to the same statement.

The company’s statement comes just one day after economy minister Virgil Popescu said the authorities will check if the company has respected its obligations to continue investments after it benefited from state aid to cope with higher energy costs. “If they did not respect the destination of the money they obtained from the exemption to pay the green certificates, then they should reimburse the sums. However, I hope that they will find another investor who wants to continue the activity because it is unacceptable that those machines that are unique in Romania are cut to scrap,” the economy minister said, quoted by Agerpres.

The IMGB factory produced, among others, the first 700 MW turbine at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.

South Korean group Doosan took over the IMGB plant in 2006 from Norwegian group Kvaerner. Doosan IMGB recorded losses every year from 2008 until 2018. In 2018, it recorded a turnover of RON 250 mln (EUR 53 mln) and losses of RON 25 mln (EUR 5.3 mln).

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