It's a shame that the internet is a virtual medium, because there are a lot of people out there that I'd like to express my deep feelings of friendship to, and having spent the last two years here in Serbia, I'd like to do it in a truly Serbian way.
Fiat Automobiles Serbia to be Officially Founded
Belgrade | 28 October 2009 | Bojana Barlovac
Zastava-assembled Fiat Punto (archive)
Fiat signed a memorandum of understanding with the Serbian government for the acquisition of Zastava's plant in May 2008 that presages the establishment of the new company.
Zastava has a long history of cooperation with Fiat. In the 1950s, Zastava started production on the local version of the Fiat Topolino subcompact, Fiat 1300 and Fiat 128 sedans. In the 1980s, Zastava launched production of the Yugo and Zastava 101 subcompacts and licensed Fiat Iveco trucks and utility vehicles.
Technical details of the new company’s work will be agreed in the next two weeks. The first of a series of meetings thereon is reportedly scheduled for today at the Economy Ministry, which will focus on employee numbers.
Under the contract, around 2,400 workers will be employed in three stages over the course of a year. Zastava currently has more than 2,700 employees, and the remaining 300 workers wil be employed by companies that provide Fiat with parts.
The daily reports that the Zastava workers’ union is demanding the transfer of 1,740 employees from Zastava to the new company in the first half of next month. Negotiations with the union begin this week and will last for several days.
