Koyo Romania halves production and lays off one third of employees

Koyo Romania, the local division of Japanese bearing manufacturer Koyo, with over 50 million euros in turnover, has started a restructuring programme that entails laying off 650 of the 1,946 employees, considering that this year's monthly production is half of what it was last year. "We are hoping the layoffs will not continue, and that they will stick to the original 650, and not make 1,000 staff redundant," said Mihai Murar, general manager of the Employment Agency in Teleorman county (AJOFM). According to sources close to Koyo, the plant in Alexandria, Teleorman, produced around 60 million bearings last year, while monthly production is now of around 2.5 million bearings. If production remains the same, Koyo will produce around 30 million bearings this year. According to AJOFM, the collective redundancy plan started on June 1st, and 400 employees have already filed for unemployment benefits.