Colgate To Stop Romania Production

Bucharest _ United States-based Colgate-Palmolive will stop production in Brasov, Romania, and move to Poland by the end of the year, the company announced.

Representatives from the toiletries manufacturer said this action is part of the company’s strategy of reorganisation, which see production facilities closed in Romania, Turkey and England.

The production in Romania will be be transferred to the plants in Poland, officials of the company added.

The 45 employees in Brasov were assured that the company will provide support during reorganisation.

The company added that it will continue selling its products in Romania, as Colgate toothpaste has a significant local market share.

Colgate-Palmolive entered the Romanian market in 1992 and has two production facilities, in Bucharest and Brasov.

The company is one of just a handful which is shifting production out of the country as the trend has been more foreign-based companies relocating their operations to Romania.

Offering cheaper work force and lower production costs, Romania is often a destination for companies relocating from Western Europe, such as Nokia.

Nokia started production of its 1200 series of mobile phone in Cluj, Romania, in February. Read more: http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8020

Cluj has become the focus of German anger. When the Nokia plant there takes over production from a plant in Bochum in western Germany, 2,300 German workers will be laid off and a further 2,000 employees of the factory’s suppliers may also lose their jobs.

Nokia selected Cluj because of its well-regarded technical university and ample supply of engineering graduates willing to work for less than a quarter of the remuneration for equivalent skills in western Europe.