The Japanese company Fujikura, which produced wiring for the automotive sector, decided to withdraw from the Republic of Moldova. The announcement was made by the head of the Investment Agency Natalia Bejan. According to her, the investors’ decision to leave Moldova was influenced by the war in Ukraine and the lack of new contracts. Natalia Bejan said that since the outbreak of the war, the number of people employed at Fujikura has decreased from 1,200 to 200, IPN reports.
The head of the Investment Agency noted that after the war is started, the company hasn’t signed new contracts to produce wiring for the automotive industry.
“Unfortunately, they are leaving Moldova. It’s just a matter of time. Fujikura was a company that delivered production lines for several concrete companies in Europe. It goes to car lines. After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, automotive companies decided not to allocate money for new lines. For the Republic of Moldova, it was decided that new projects will not be awarded. For Fujikura, the fact that they had to close their factory was no surprise because they reached the end of the contracts they had to deliver,” Natalia Bejan stated in the talk show “Resumé” on RliveTV channel.
Natalia Bejan said the company’s withdrawal doesn’t suddenly leave thousands of people without jobs as Fijikura has gradually reduced its activity and the number of employees. There was no pressure from state institutions on the company.
“When the war started, over 1,000 people were working at the factory in Comrat. When Fujikura took the preliminary decision to withdraw from the market, only 200 people were already working there. So, over the past two years, the company has reduced its number of employees from 1,200 to 200. Unfortunately, that’s the reality. The company honored its contractual obligations until the end, but at some point it wasn’t able to attract new contracts. This is one of the examples that shows us both the influence of the war and the investors’ decision to withdraw. It doesn’t go to pressure from the state. We got involved, but on the contrary, with the positive pressure to influence them to stay in the Republic of Moldova. We asked what can we do, what guarantees we can offer. But in the field of car building, a minute of delay can cost you €30,000-€40,000. Therefore, our guarantees were not enough,” explained the head of the Investment Agency.
Fujikura came to Moldova in 2016. The company’s initial investment was €3.2 million. The money was allocated for opening a line for producing wiring for the automotive sector.
