Tracom to be closed down, president says

The Chisinau-based tractor factory Tracom will be closed down because its production is outmoded, announced Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin at a nationwide powwow of the labor unions on Wednesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. “There are some problems we cannot deal away with, because the factory is not producing competitive tractors, whereas in Europe their production is so great that they could cover the demand of all the continents. To attain such performances, we need huge investments, which Moldova will never have”, said the president. According to him, the government bought 40 Tracom-made tractors to give the workers their due salaries, but the problem of the factory hasn't been solved. “At first we thought we'd reach the Balkan markets, along with the Belorussians, but those markets are already full with good quality tractors”, the president explained. Vasile Bainac, chairman of Tracom's unions, told Info-Prim Neo that Voronin's statements upset him greatly, because they hoped that the government, which owns a 93% stake in the factory, would do something to rescue the company. “If they close the factory, 500 employees will remain jobless, employees who haven't received their pays for 4 months now”, said Vasile Bainac. Workers at Tracom rallied on Monday, November 3, to protest the factory's failure to pay salaries and modernize. Similar protest actions were staged earlier in July.