Economy 3 November 2022, 3:30pm

First factory closures, layoffs already happening in Hungary's construction industry

Portfolio

The production at the two domestic factories of Zalakerámia Zrt. has been suspended since mid-summer and last month the company decided to restart only one of the factories. In addition, several large companies in the building materials sector have been hit by the drop in orders, including Velux Magyarország Kft, news portal 24.hu reported.

The soaring energy prices have caused serious difficulties for Zalakerámia Zrt., the country's largest tile manufacturer. The company decided to shut down two of its factories in the summer, with only the unit in Tófej, Zala county resuming production last month. The other unit in Romhány, Nógrád county remains shut down.

The company does not intend to permanently close the facility, which employs around 140 people, and will continue to carry out maintenance work and retain workers. According to the company's manager, the dependence on natural gas, which is also causing the closures, could be solved by installing solar panels.

According to 24.hu, several large construction companies have recently laid off workers. Velux Magyarország Kft. is the only company to respond to the news portal's inquiry, confirming the news of the redundancies but not providing exact figures.