GE Money lays off 9% of its employees

American-based GE Money, which owns credit and leasing companies Domenia, Ralfi and Motoractive, will lay off 85 employees of the 965 the group has on the Romanian market, as a result of the decline of the lending market, where the American group is a leading player. GE Money, the financial services division of American giant General Electric, entered the Romanian market at the end of 2006 via a 140 million-euro investment in taking over the three companies from RAEF fund. The group has yet to release its 2008 financial results. In the first five months of 2008, GE Money granted credits worth 150 million euros. “As demand for lending continues to fall, we have decided to adjust the number of employees to suit the current market conditions and the company’s needs. We will reduce the number of employees by 8-9%. We are talking about 85 employees, and the adjustment will take place at the end of the third quarter of 2009,” Stefan Arzner, HR manager of GE Money Romania told ZF.