Molex, U.S.-based car component manufacturer, is closing its factory in eastern Slovakia, which will cause close to 1,000 people to lose their jobs.
Employers will be eligible for a subsidy if they reduce working hours for employees, but still keep them in work. Another type of financial aid has been reserved for companies to create new jobs.
As overly optimistic predictions for the impact of the financial crisis in Slovakia evaporated, the newly established “crisis council” will try to keep Slovakia among the five fastest-growing economies in the European Union.
Forecasts for Slovakia’s economic growth were reduced recently when the European Commission said they expect GDP to increase by 2.7 percent in 2009, as opposed to the 4.9 percent predicted in its autumn 2008 forecast.
