OMV Petrom gas station, photo: OMV Petrom
The Austrian Petroleum, Gas and Chemicals group OMV plans to reduce 2,000 of the 23,000 employees worldwide, according to Kurier local publication, taken over by Reuters. The branch in Romania, OMV Petrom, will be the most affected by this measure, sources within the unions say. OMV Petrom is the largest company in Romania in terms of turnover.
At the end of June, OMV Petrom had 10,158 anjagati, according to the company's financial report.
Personnel discounts are also planned at the OMV refinery in southern Germany, but also in Slovakia, where the company owns gas stations, say the unions within the group.
The Borealis chemical branch – which is to merge with the chemical division of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the main shareholder of OMV – will not be affected.
About 400 of the 5,400 positions of the company in Austria will be eliminated, the company intending to make the restructuring “as socially consciously possible”, the newspaper wrote.
Company unions are preparing protest actions
OMV has refused to comment on this information, according to Reuters. In turn, Hotnews.ro asked for a point of view of OMV Petrom.
Appointing the plans a “severe blow” for the Austrian economy, the GPA union warned that it could follow protest actions, if OMV would not present an “equitable” offer for the departing employees.
“The possible loss of highly qualified personnel is a major loss for the Austrian industry,” he added.
OMV Petrom had a turnover of 29.6 billion lei last year and a profit of 4.2 billion lei. Compared to 2023, the turnover decreased by about 12%, while the net profit increased slightly.
