German Leoni gets EUR 10 mln state aid to add 1,200 new jobs in Romania

German cable producer Leoni Wiring Systems, which is part of the Leoni group, has budgeted EUR 22 million investments for this year in Romania, for the development of its cable factories in Bistrita and Pitesti, according to data from the Finance Ministry. The Romanian state will grant aids of EUR 10.3 million for these two investments, which will create more than 1,200 new jobs. The investment in Pitesti is EUR 11.4 million, out of which EUR 5 million is financed through state aid, and will generate 884 new jobs. The group will also invest EUR 10.7 million in Bistrita, for which it will get 5.35 million state aid. This will create 322 new jobs. Leoni has three factories in Romania, located in Bistrita, Pitesti and Arad, which produce cable systems for carmakers such as Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler or GM. They generated total revenues of EUR 432 million and net profits of EUR 11.8 million in 2013, according to data from the Finance Ministry. The three factories had more than 9,600 employees in 2013, official data shows. The new investments will raise the headcount to 11,000 employees, which makes Leoni one of the largest employers in Romania. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com