Entrepreneurs resort to layoffs: 1,300 people already affected

Eight of the top Romanian businessmen, each of them running businesses of more than 100 million euros and employing thousands of people, have announced that they have either made or will make 5 to 10% of their staff redundant, according to a ZF survey. The entrepreneurs considered are Viorel Catarama, Ioan Ciolan, Gheorghe Antochi, Micula brothers, Cezar Rapotan, Radu Timis, Ovidiu Buluc and Dan Sucu.

“It is incredible how the labour market changed in only two months. Those made redundant will have a very hard time finding work. Retail is one of the fields that is still hiring; although many companies thought of postponing expansion plans for a while, they realised this was a good time to be picking talented people from the market,” said Madalina Popescu, general manager of human resource consultant Pluri Consultants. She says the factors leading to these redundancies are different from one business to another, but there is also a common factor: the economic crisis. Entrepreneurs such as Viorel Catarama (Elvila), Ioan Ciolan (Ambient) and Gheorghe Antochi (Agricola Bacau) have put more than 200 people each on the redundancy lists as 2009 is the first year when they do not hire staff. A special situation is that of the business of the Micula brothers who announced they might cut several thousand jobs, but notified the County Employment Agency of Bihor at the beginning of the year that they would lay off about 150 people over the coming period. “Redundancies are not something we want. Conditions on the market and the policies of the state force us to do it,” stated Ioan Micula, the owner of one of the biggest groups in the local food industry, European Food & Drinks. The business and development plans were affected by the halt in bank lending, so that “downshifting” is necessary, Ioan Micula says. Another businessman that will resort to redundancies is Dan Sucu, who is thinking of closing one or two factories. He did not say what it meant human resources-wise, but his furniture factories employ 200 to 400 people each. Businessmen Cezar Rapotan (Arabesque), Radu Timis (CrisTim) and Ovidiu Buluc (Farmexim) announced job cuts, as well.