Bolojan, about the layoffs at Dacia: “I don't think that the political leaders will have the guts to deny the warnings about the 1% tax”
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan warns that the restructuring announced by the builder from Mioveni is the “delayed effect” of the fiscal policies of recent years.
In an interview with Digi 24, Bolojan talks about the negative impact of the taxes on the Mioveni producer and other large companies, stating that production cuts are worrying.
In this context, he reminds politicians who criticize him for reducing the tax for big companies that their representatives have drawn attention for a long time to the fact that their productivity is affected, and the effects are now being seen.
“Any reduction in production capacity, any loss of orders at the companies that are the backbone of the economy, obviously means some reductions, some jobs in the red, some good salaries that are lost, some families that have to look for other solutions. It loses competitiveness, that really worries me”, declared the head of the Executive.
The prime minister's warning comes in the context in which the Unions of Mioveni recently warned that the restructuring program could target the dismissal of approximately 1,200 people, amid the decrease in orders and the automation of production lines.
“I don't think they'll have the guts not to admit it”
Regarding the fiscal pressure, Bolojan added: “If you ask any political leader who met with those from Dacia-Renault or with those from Ford, which are two companies that practically keep our exports on the market, I don't think they will have the guts not to admit that at every meeting they were told: if you don't remove this 1% tax, we have serious problems inside our groups because the groups launch car orders.”
The 1% tax on turnover, to which the Prime Minister refers, was introduced by the Ciolacu Government on January 1, 2024 and obliges large companies to pay a minimum tax, regardless of whether they are in profit or loss.
Bolojan specified that, although the tax was reduced this year, decisions regarding the reduction of personnel or the restriction of the activity are taken a year or two in advance, based on cost analyses, and companies such as Dacia can decide to move production where it is more advantageous for them.
Currently, although the Mioveni plant remains the country's biggest exporter, the Renault group has already started transferring production of some models and components to factories in Morocco and Turkey to reduce costs.
“And then, because we like it, because we like it, we are not alone in this world, and including within the groups that have companies in Romania, there is a competition to get orders to manufacture a certain model of car in one country or another (…) this measure that we took and that I support, I think will straighten things out and make us more attractive for large investments”, the prime minister concluded.
