Genimata: 500 positions preserved in the HDS

500 of 818 workers in five factories of the HDS will remain in their positions until December 2014, Deputy Minister of National Defence said this morning on Mega TV and added that a small bonus under a voluntary retirement scheme will be given to those who leave.
 
"We made an effort, we negotiated hard for months to reach this agreement that demonstrates that even under this framework and within the crisis, different political choices may exist. This agreement provides a second chance for the HDS and workers because it retains 500 job positions," Fofi Genimata noted.
 
The Deputy Minister of National Defence said that the company's viability will be reassessed at the end of 2014. "Just think that we started from a logic that said in August the company had to be liquidated or immediately shut down, the country's defense industry stopped, the Greek army left without supplies, depending only on imports. All this created a very serious problem in the Ministry of Defense and the country."
 
According to the draft, the five factories of HDS which today employ about 818 workers, will continue to operate until December 2014 with 500 of them. As Genimata said those who leave will receive a small bonus under a voluntary retirement scheme.
 
For the subsidiarie companies, however, that are on political production she said things will be different. "We have two subsidiaries that employ 115 persons, one in Ioannina and one in Kimi. Unfortunately, because these are the political sector that will be broken and in accordance to the Directorate-General for Competition we have no right for civilian production they will be shut down. Around May and until August they will either have to be purchased together with the workers otherwise the employees will unfortunately be fired in August 2014."