Philip Morris to Axe Third of Serb Workforce: Report

Source from:  AFP 08/03/2009

Global tobacco giant Philip Morris will dismiss one third of the 910-strong workforce at its Serbian subsidiary in order to keep competitive, Beta news agency reported Friday. "Detailed analysis showed that for effective and sustainable business, there should be no more than 580 employees" at Duvanska Industrija Nis (DIN), the agency said, quoting a DIN statement. The job cuts and other measures planned were designed to enable DIN to become increasingly comptetive due to lower prices and overall negative economic trends, the report said. According to the latest official data for May, the unemployment rate stood at 25.8 percent in Serbia, which plunged into recession in the first quarter of 2009 as a result of shrinking foreign investment. US-based Philip Morris International bought DIN in 2003, paying 580 million euros for a controlling 66-percent stake in the privatisation of Serbia's biggest tobacco factory. Enditem