June 19 (SeeNews) - The Slovenian paint factory of Canada-based automotive parts supplier Magna International may remain closed until the end of 2020 due to lower sales resulting from the coronavirus crisis, local media reported.
The paint shop, located in Slovenia's northeastern Hoce–Slivnica municipality, suspended production in the middle of March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, and according to initial plans was expected to resume production in April.
As a result of the considerable drop in sales and demand by European buyers, Magna will extend the temporary shutdown of the Slovenian factory, offering to its 200 workers employment at the sister plant in Austria's Graz until the restart of production, news daily Delo reported on Thursday, quoting company officials as saying.
"Considering the current economic forecasts, it is expected that the temporary suspension of production could last by the end of 2020, depending on the future plans of the customers," the officials were quoted as saying.
Magna opened the paint factory in Hoce-Slivnica in July 2019, following a 150 million euro ($168 million) investment.
Back then, the Slovenian government said the construction of the factory is the largest greenfield investment in Slovenia's history, providing Magna with incentives worth 18.6 million euro for the project.
The government has said that the paint shop is expected to employ some 400 more people in the first three years, with the final number of employees reaching at least 1,000 in the coming ten years.
Magna International runs some 347 manufacturing operations and 94 product development, engineering and sales centres in 27 countries. In Serbia, it operates Magna Seating, which makes seating systems for Renault, Ford and Smart.
($=0.8917 euro)