U.S. Bechtel, the company that is building Romania’s Transylvania Highway plans to sack over 800 employees working on the highway, arguing the construction area is not ready for further works and the Romanian state has not paid its debts for works in 2010.  Union leader Mihai Lup on Friday said Bechtel plans to carry through its massive layoffs between January 20, 2011 and February 28, 2011. According to Lup, Bechtel management informed unionists that it set off procedures to sack 834 employees working on the highway.

"Bechtel said it decided to start massive layoffs because works on the highway can no longer continue, as the construction area is not ready for further works, and because the Romanian Government has failed to pay debts of EUR 73 million, VAT not included, for works executed this year", said Lup, adding unionists will try to find a way to stop layoffs or at least reduce the number of employees to be sacked.

Last week, Prime Minister Emil Boc and Transport Minister Anca Boagiu cut the ribbon to open a new ten-kilometer section of the Transylvania Highway between Turda and Campia Turzii in northwestern Romania. A first 42-kilometer section of the Transylvania Highway, which is designed to be 415-kilometers long, was completed and opened to traffic in December last year.

The construction of the Transylvania Highway, which links central Brasov to western Bors on the border with Hungary, started in 2004 based on a EUR 2.2 billion contract attributed to U.S. constructor Bechtel. Works were halted mid-2005, when authorities started looking into contracts concluded under the previous government. The deadline for the completion of works was extended until 2013 from the initial 2012.

Mediafax