Approximately 2,700 workers will be laid off with severance packages from four companies from the Croatian Railways Group and 15 subsidiaries by the end of this year, Transport Minister Sinisa Hajdas Doncic said on Tuesday presenting a programme for the restructuring of Croatian Railways (HZ).
Severance packages are estimated at EUR420 million and are expected to be covered by a loan granted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Hajdas Doncic said.
On condition that planned investments in and modernisation of the railway system is realised, 4,500 of a total of 17,482 workers currently employed in HZ and its subsidiaries should be laid off over the next four years.
HZ Infrastructure will undergo divestiture and become a state-owned company, as prescribed by European Union guidelines so that all railway transporters, after the liberalisation, could have equal access to infrastructure.
HZ Cargo will seek strategic partners before entering the privatisation process and HZ Holding will continue to exist for a little longer so that the legal implementation of the steps stated above could be implemented.
The rolling stock company TZV Gredelj will also undergo restructuring.
The total cost of HZ restructuring and modernisation by 2017 is estimated at HRK35 billion of which HRK25.5 billion refers to HR Infrastructure.
Minister Hajdas Doncic said HZ restructuring was one of the biggest projects of the Zoran Milanovic cabinet aimed at creating a business system ready for market competition in Europe after Croatia joins the bloc on 1 July 2013.
The minister said that programmes for the restructuring of the Croatian Motorways company, the Rijeka-Zagreb Highway company, Croatia Airlines and other public companies under the jurisdiction of his ministry would be presented within the next two weeks.
