Audi Hungaria trade union denies rumours of massive layoff - week 44 2019 edition
Volkswagen looking to become giant in EV manufacturing, Audi Hungaria trade union denies layoff rumours, Japanese spring manufacturer expands in Tata. Let’s recap what last week brought in Hungary’s automotive sector.
News broke last week about a potential layoff at Audi Hungaria affecting 1,200 employees. The Audi Hungaria Independent Trade Union denied reports, and revealed in an interview with autopro.hu that the Győr-based automaker is simply not offering renewal of a number of fixed-term contracts.
According to the Union, the employees affected were aware of the possibility of non renewal upon termination.
ISD Dunaferr Zrt. has announced layoffs affecting 350 employees, necessitated by difficult economic conditions in the steel industry.
Japanese spring manufacturer NHK Spring Hungary has expanded its manufacturing site in Tata with a HUF 26 billion investment. A second unit triples the plant’s production area.
Although Volkswagen registered an unforeseen growth in the first nine months of 2019, the car maker is expecting flat results for the whole of the year due to projections of a more severe annual downturn in the global auto industry.
The VW Group is looking to become a giant in electric-car manufacturing. The German car maker is expecting to boost its annual EV output to 1 million units in China, surpassing Tesla in the market of electric vehicles.
Although there are nearly 700 car dealerships in Hungary, their numbers have hardly increased in recent years. Suzuki, Dacia and Renault have opened highest number of new dealerships in recent period. The government scheme subsidizing the purchase of large family cars boosted the segment of cars costing between HUF 4.5 and 6 million.
AutoWallis closed a successful quarter after boosting its used and new car sales by nearly 20 and 56 percent, respectively, while the group also showed positive results in the first eight months combined.
The strategy of AutoWallis is supported by the Employee Shareholder Programme (MRP) initiative. The 7.35 percent share portfolio is provided by Wallis Asset Management without additional charges.
Management of AutoWallis and its subsidiaries are given access to the portfolio when reaching certain productivity targets.
According to a survey by GKI, the business climate somewhat improved in October from a three-year low it hit in September, while consumer confidence indicators worsened after a two-month period of constant improvement. Short-term economic prospects decreased within the margin of error and hovered around a three-year low.
Unemployment rates continue to decrease in Hungary. In the period between July and September, the average number of unemployed people in Hungary was registered at 163,000, accounting for an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent.
Open positions in the processing industry could sky-rocket in the next ten years as a result of industrial growth. Companies will start to look for highly trained professionals in the fields of engineering who can supervise and control increasingly sophisticated manufacturing environments.
The next budget planning period of the European Union for the research and innovation programme of the next seven years is starting in 2021. Players in Hungarian industry, research and education have a lot at stake when it comes to proposals and cooperation.
Infocommunications enjoy high importance in nearly all fields of application, it was revealed at the Horizon2020 IKT Information Day, held at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
