Fiat to pause production in Kragujevac until September 3

The production at the Kragujevac plant of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Serbia was paused today, and the workers will be on a paid leave until Monday, September 3, the Autonomous Trade Union of the factory told Beta. The recent three-week vacation of FCA workers was preceded by a week of a paid leave.

After they returned from their vacation, FCA workers spent only five days at work. They will end August with a five-day paid leave.

– The production was paused in order to balance the demand with the production of 500L cars. It is known that the demand is lower from June till August, and FCA doesn’t stock cars, but produces them to be sold – said Zoran Markovic, the president of the Autonomous Trade Union.

He confirmed that the employees would be paid 65% of their salary during the leave under the Labor Law.

Markovic said that paid leaves had been a usual occurrence in the past years, due to either “harmonizing with the production plans” or the demand or the halts at subcontractors or suppliers.

– These leaves confirm that, to operate at full capacity, we need a new product, a new model. It’s not enough to just produce 500L in three versions – Markovic said.

He pointed out that, more than paid leaves, the workers are worried whether the contract with FCA will be extended, as the ten-year contract with the company expires on September 29.

FCA Srbija Kragujevac

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia

FCA Serbia

Autonomous Trade Union of Fiat

Fiat 500 L

Fiat Kragujevac

production at Fiat

paid leave at Fiat

Zoran Markovic