Massive layoffs in Bistrita-Năsăud: 500 employees fired from a factory. “The unemployment rate will clearly increase”
A massive wave of collective redundancies is hitting the labor market in Bistrița-Năsăud county, where the manufacturer RAAL will lay off another 500 employees starting in the second half of the year, in addition to the 250 already laid off at the beginning of 2026.
A massive wave of collective layoffs hits the labor market in Bistrița-Năsăud county. PHOTO: Archive
According to the director of the Bistrita-Năsăud County Employment Agency, Angela Koos, the employees are already in the notice period, and the layoffs will have visible effects in the coming months.
“They are at the notice stage, they notified us last week – the final notice. We start pre-layoff services and, with June, so after the 30 days of notice expires, we will probably take over most of the unemployed. It is about 500 people. With 250, who were previously, there are already 750. They now have 1,285 employees on the organizational chart, from which they leave 500 now”said Angela Koos.
The financial problems of the company, which operates two factories in Bistrița and Prundu Bârgăului, are the basis of these massive layoffs. The situation is aggravated by the fact that other companies in the area are also starting to reduce staff. A gambling company has also announced plans to lay off 40 of its 165 employees.
Although the unemployment rate registered a slight decrease in March, the authorities warn that this indicator does not reflect the reality on the ground.
“The unemployment rate decreased (in March – no) by 0.05 percentage points compared to last month. Now it is 3.53%, it was 3.58% in February. But that does not tell us anything (…) so it will clearly increase, starting from June it will be felt”, Koos explained.
The director of AJOFM draws attention to the fact that the labor market is not ready to absorb the large number of laid-off people, in the context in which jobs are becoming fewer and fewer.
“At the present time, the labor market is not ready to integrate them, the number of vacancies is decreasing (…) The big taxpayers from our county are keeping their staff for now, they are not hiring”, she also said.
To support the affected people, the Bistrita-Năsăud County Employment Agency will organize a job exchange in May, focused on areas such as HoReCa, construction and agriculture, where there is still a demand for labor.
