Employment, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Metals Market

"These are workers who decided not to wait until April 25 when the company will start firing workers," explained Baumane. They have already terminated their contracts with KVV Liepajas Metalurgs. On March 21, the company informed the Employment Agency that it was planning to lay off a total of 300 workers from April 25.

According to Baumane, there are enough employees at the Liepaja branch of the Employment Agency to ensure that there are no long lines at the agency's office in Liepaja at the end of April. In addition, it is possible that agreement could be reached with KVV Liepajas Metalurgs' personnel department so the company does not dismiss 300 workers all in one day, she added.

At the moment, the agency has 240 vacancies to offer to job seekers in Liepaja. These include jobs at industrial enterprises, in construction and road construction, there also are several vacancies for truck drivers. Released from KVV Liepajas Metalurgs will be not just welders, but also electricians, accountants, drivers and others, so many of them will be able to find a new job, said Baumane.

The unemployment level in Liepaja has increased from 12.3% to 12.5% in a week, added Baumane.

As reported, Ukrainian investor KVV Group has been forced to take a decision on the conservation of KVV Liepajas Metalurgs metallurgical company' plant, the group's spokeswoman Natalia Napadovska told LETA in March.

Igor Talanov, the board chairman of KVV Liepajas Metalurgs, said that, according to preliminary estimates, about 300 of the total of 402 workers currently working in the plant would have to be laid off. Over EUR 800,000 will be paid to the laid-off workers.