Representatives of the German producer Draxlmaier, the largest employer in the Romanian auto parts industry, believes the attractiveness of the domestic automotive industry is weakening for investors; citing as an example the increase in labour costs, one of the main indicators considered when starting the construction of a new plant.
"We noticed that the enthusiasm for relocating to Romania has started to dwindle. Since Romania joined the European Union, we have had to deal with a rise in energy costs, in labour costs and in utility expenses," said Ferdinand Zilcher, administrative manager for Romania at Draxlmaier.
The accelerated rise in fixed costs prompted the company to apply programmes to increase productivity in its plants in Romania, but has failed to attain the same growth rate.
"The costs increase concerning the workforce, from 15% to 30%, was higher than expected and we noticed a sudden rise in the demands of our employees in Romania, particularly in the wake of the accession. Overall, we are expecting costs to rise by around 30%," added Zilcher.
The company employs around 18,500 people in its five Romanian plants and is the largest employer in the domestic automotive sector, followed by Automobile Dacia, with around 10,000 staff and Automobile Craiova, with 4,000 staff.
"We hired new employees in some of our production centres this year, whilst others left. However, given the overall situation, the number of employees has not suffered any major fluctuations," said Zilcher.
The German company produces dashboard components in Pitesti and Satu Mare, interior and decorative components in Codlea, Brasov county, dashboard components and measuring devices in Timisoara, whilst the newest plant, located in Hunedoara, produces rubber components.
The German group manufacturers products in Romania for customers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche, Lexus, Toyota and General Motors.
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