Takata Petri hires 1,000 people in half a year in Arad and Sibiu

Car parts manufacturer Takata Petri hired 1,000 staff between April and November for the steering wheel and seatbelts plants in Arad and for the airbag plant in Sibiu.

The company thus exceeded the 6,000-employee mark, which makes it one of the biggest employees in the auto industry, alongside Automobile Dacia, Draxlmaier and Continental.

"Figures show Takata's operations in Romania are on the rise. This increase of the steering wheel plant comes as a result of the relocation of the Poland plant to Arad, while in the other sectors it has to do with the new projects attracted," said Jacob Lux, communication manager of Takata Petri AG.

Takata's development in Romania comes at a time when many businesses in the car manufacturing industry are still restructuring, with orders continuing to lack amid a decline of the international car market. According to company representatives, there are currently 4,800 staff working in Arad at present, compared with 4,000 in April.

The international restructuring of the Japanese group, with around 4 billion euros in turnover in 2008, entailed the relocation of steering wheel production from the Polish plant to the Romanian-based one. Therefore, with profitability in mind, Takata decided to close the plant in Walbryzych, Poland at the end of August, and relocate its operations to Arad, which resulted in 571 Polish employees being made redundant.

"The majority of the new jobs resulted from the closure in Poland. Before the crisis, around 1,200 people were working there. In Romania the relocation led to the creation of 700 new jobs," said Lux.

The company has production facilities on four continents, with its European headquarters located in Germany, where it also has nine production facilities. Back in January, however, Takata also fired 223 employees in Romania, after orders from foreign partners and from Automobile Dacia had fallen.

In Romania, Takata Petri is one of the leading producers in the auto industry, behind Continental, Michelin and Ina Schaeffler. The group's business amounted to 269 million euros last year, more than 220 million euros of which generated by the steering wheels and seatbelts plants in Arad. ZF