Netanyahu speaks out over massive negev factory lay offs after workers tear up Likud membership cards

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the management Israel Chemicals' Bromine Compound factory in southern Israel after hundreds of workers were fired this week and several workers tore up their Likud membership card, claiming the Likud no longer takes care of workers in the Negev region.

"I take this improper move very seriously, in which the management has used firing workers at the Bromine Compound factory as leverage to pressure the government," Netanyahu wrote.

According to Netanyahu, the move was designed to "obtain economic benefits and money from the state during the election period. They should immediately stop the lay offs and hold discussions with employees and with the government after elections."