Romanian Azomures Lays Off 1,000 Employees

Approximately 1,000 employees of Romania’s chemical fertilizers maker Azomures (AZO.RO), or half of the employees, will be put on technical unemployment as of Monday, management sources said Thursday.

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The technical unemployment period will start on December 1 and end January 12, 2009, due to the lack of orders.

Maria Dandarau, vice-president of Azomures trade union, said Thursday that the company will temporary halt its production activity and put all the production employees on technical unemployment as of December 1.

She could not specify the exact number of affected employees.

Azomures decided at mid November to halve its production by the end of the year, due to the latest economic turmoil that led to a cut in the chemical fertilizers demands.

Azomures also put 250 employees on technical unemployment on November 12, until yearend, due to lower demand of chemical fertilizers and lower products prices, on the backdrop of the international financial crisis.

Unless the financial situation revives in the next period, the company will extend the restriction period until 2009.

Azomures estimated in April that its 2008 net profit would reach 61.81 million lei (EUR1=RON3.8580), up 11% compared with a year earlier.

In 2007, the company switched to a RON55.61 million net profit, from a RON1 million loss a year before, while its last year revenues were at RON914.55 million, up 21.3% on the year.

The company is 56% owned by Luxemburg-registered Transworld Fertilizers Holding.

On the Bucharest Stock Exchange, at 1253 GMT, Azomures shares were trading at RON0.2050, down 8.48% on the day.

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