US owner to shut down Slovenj Gradec plant, 430 jobs to be shed

Slovenj Gradec – The US multinational Adient has announced it will close down its Slovenj Gradec plant by the end of the year as a result of which 430 people will lose their jobs.

Employees at the plant in Slovenj Gradec, in the north, were notified of the plan by a representative of Adient on Wednesday, with trade unionist Jaka Šilak confirming the news for the STA.

According to a local radio, the management of Adient, an auto seating manufacturer, blamed the current situation in the automotive industry and Slovenia’s uncompetitive labour market for the move.

The Slovenj Gradec plant manufactures components for car seats and interiors. Last year 119 workers were included in the workforce reduction plan following an expiry of a production programme.

Šilak said the decision to close down the plant came as a surprise because the owners had announced in the autumn they had work secured for the employees in the Slovenj Gradec operation until 2025.

“It comes as a shock for whole Koroška,” Šilak said, adding that the ZSSS union would staunchly oppose the plant’s closure.

The first lay-offs are planned for mid-year.

Should the planned redundancies materialise, Šilak is concerned that it would be hard for so many people to find jobs in the region, given the situation.

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