About 200 employees from the Leoni factory in Luduş protested on Thursday, May 2, 2024, following the decision to close the workplace.
On the other hand, the company blames the low demand in the market, determined by the reduction of subsidies for electric cars, a decision that led to less sales for them, after the European Commission put pressure on all manufacturers to invest in new technologies, without boost investments in charging networks for them.
“As you know, the world economy has undergone significant changes recently due to the global geo-political situation. All these events determined economic contractions in several sectors. The car manufacturing market is also affected in terms of distribution routes, but also the decrease in production, which leads to a low demand for component parts. Also, car manufacturers are forced to make the transition from gasoline and diesel engines to hybrid and electric ones, but subsidies for electric cars have decreased in all European countries, which does not encourage their sale”, said Leoni representatives in a press release.
In March 2024, according to ACEA – Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, registrations of electric cars fell by over 11% compared to March 2023, to around 134,000 units, and their market share decreased from 13.9% to 13% . But the decline was caused by Germany, where registrations of electric cars fell in March by almost 30%, while in Belgium or France they continued to grow. Moreover, in total, in Q1, electric cars rose by almost 4% at the European level to a total of 333,000 units. On the other hand, the European authorities recognize that eight times more charging points need to be installed annually until 2030 to reach the target. If 3,000 are now installed in Europe per week, 8,000 are now needed in the same interval.
Company officials explain that “in this context, but also in the general economic context, at the level of the Leoni group, a series of detailed analyzes took place that evaluated the efficiency of our operations. After long discussions, we identified a need for flexibility in the way we work, so that we can keep up with the demands of the automotive market. The decision to second our employees from Luduş to other Leoni factories in Romania, respectively to the factories in Arad and Bistrita, was taken as a result of the drastic reduction in orders for the factory in Luduş and considering our desire to keep all these valuable employees within the company”.
The Leoni employees from Luduş have the option of relocating to Arad, in the factory there, over 300 km away, or resigning, according to the employees’ posts on social networks.
“Out of the desire to affect our employees as little as possible and to preserve the continuity of work, we offered them the opportunity to carry out their activity at the factories in Bistriţa. Until the factories in Bistrita will have the opportunity to integrate them in the specific processes, we directed our employees to the factory in Arad. Thus, for a maximum period of 5 months, employees have the possibility of secondment to the factory in Arad. We support the relocation of our employees by providing accommodation, but also by offering a relocation bonus. After this period, the activity of our employees will resume at the factories in Bistriţa. The company will provide free transportation to the workplace and back,” the officials say in the statement.
With a workforce of approximately 12,000 employees in 2024, Leoni Romania is one of the most important employers in the country.
The company’s history begins with the opening of the first Wiring Systems Division factory in Arad in 2000. In 2002, the factory in Bistrita was opened, followed by the one in Pitesti 3 years later. We continued to expand with satellite factories in Beiuş, Luduş, Marghita and Bumbeşti-Jiu. In 2016, the first LEONI Shared Service Center (SSC) was established in Cluj-Napoca, which coordinates 17 distinct corporate functions.
Currently, the company operates a total of 10 factories in Romania, with a total production area of 180,000 square meters.
Within the Romanian operations, LEONI produces approximately 23,500 products, with a major focus on LV (low-voltage) assemblies for conventional vehicles and HV (high-voltage) assemblies for electric vehicles. This diversified range of products is supplied to the most important car manufacturers in the industry.
For other news, analyses, articles and business information in real time, follow Ziarul Financiar on WhatsApp Channels
