Serbia's Mitros to close meat processing factory - report

“The union was not informed whether the owners had spoken with the representatives of Serbia’s government and, if so, what they had discussed, but Gierlinger have decided to close the factory on December 15,” said president of the factory’s independent trade union, Milan Smoljanovic, as quoted by news agency Beta on Tuesday.

He added that of the 440 workers, half have already taken severance pay and left the factory, while the other half will work until its closure.

In 2015 Gierlinger Holding took over Mitros after bankruptcy proceedings and another three unsuccessful sale attempts. At the time, the Austrian company planned to invest 16 million euro ($17.1 million) in new equipment at the factory and export its output to the Russian and Chinese markets.

The factory was put into operation in May 2016 after a year and a half of renovation and modernisation.

$ = 0.9377 euro