Workers at the Fiat factory in Serbia can choose between further training abroad or dismissal after the factory prepares to produce electric cars, and according to the parent company, Stellantis, the workers must be retrained for this, the Belgrade daily Telegraf reported on Wednesday.
The Amsterdam-based international company Stellantis is starting to produce electric vehicles at the Fiat factory in Kragujevac, southern Serbia. The company agreed on this with the Serbian government at the end of April, since the Serbian state owns one-third of the factory in Krajevac. The total value of the investment is EUR 190 million (more than HUF 73 billion), of which EUR 48 million is provided by the Serbian state.
The production of electric cars can begin in the second half of 2024, but until then the more than 1,800 workers need further training and retraining, the company announced. In order to facilitate the transition, the employees were offered the opportunity to continue their training at another foreign company of the company in the next two years, but they could also choose to leave. According to preliminary news, within a few days, about a quarter of the workers indicated that they were ready to move abroad.
According to official data, 2,235,794 passenger cars were registered in Serbia last year. In addition to gasoline and diesel cars, more and more electric vehicles are appearing, although their number is still very low. In 2021, only 50 electric cars were put on the market in the country.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)