OLN: Avtotor’s future uncertain

Avtorynok Kaliningrada [1]. Last week a rally of 1,500 Avtotor’s employees was held in front of Kaliningrad City Administration, caused by the intention of the Russian government to limit Avtotor’s annual production quota to 10,000 vehicles and (possibly) to deprive the enterprise of customs duty benefits it is currently enjoying.

If implemented, the decision will instantaneously lead the plant to bankruptcy, with 2,000 people losing their jobs.

Other Kaliningrad enterprises will be seriously affected as well. Avtotor accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Kaliningrad Railways load, and 60 per cent of all cargos going through the port of Baltiysk. Regional budget will also lose a significant share of income due to the drop in tax revenues.

Avtotor’s planned output for 2008 supported by contracts with foreign counterparts – 180,000 vehicles.

The resolution on Avtotor is currently awaiting the decision by Russian Prime-Minister, Viktor Zubkov. Read more in Russian… [2]

NOTE: News marked with OLN acronym is a translation prepared by AIKE to inform English speaking audience of the website on Kaliningrad news that are as a rule not covered in English anywhere else on the Internet. A link to the Russian source of information is provided in every OLN item in case you would like to learn more on the issue.