Oil Refineries to sack 240 workers
Just several days after Teva's mass layoff announcement, Channel 10 reports Haifa-based oil refining company planning to dismiss hundreds of employees following heavy losses
According to a Channel 10 report, hundreds of workers will be sent packing soon following heavy losses suffered by the company in recent years. ORL employs a total of 1,500 workers and has yet to decide who will be included in the current round of layoffs.
The company hit a rough patch recently after losing $167 million in 2012 and NIS 87 million ($24.5 million) in 2011. Most of the losses were caused by the three-year delay in the arrival of natural gas from the Israeli drilling in the Mediterranean Sea, which significantly burdened the company.
Since the beginning of October, ORL has lost about one-quarter of its value on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and in light of its recent performance and reports, it will likely fail to meet its debt obligations.
The Histadrut labor Federation, which ORL workers are affiliated with, said in a statement upon learning of the expected layoffs on Sunday evening: "At the moment we are looking into the matter. The committees and Histadrut will meet tomorrow and we'll study the situation. We are aware of ORL's situation and we plan to care for the workers' rights and the agreements."
The Oil Refineries Group is considered one of the biggest credit consumers in the Israeli economy, with financial debts which reached $2.1 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2013. The group's liquidity balance recorded a drop as well, of $143 million, reaching only $126 million in the first half of 2013.
Teva: Biggest wave of layoffs in history
The ORL layoffs come as another major blow to the Israeli employment market, after only last week pharmaceutical giant Teva, one of the Israeli economy's biggest employers, announced plans to cut its workforce worldwide by 10% during 2014 – a total of some 5,000 workers. In Israel, some 700-800 employees are expected to lose their jobs in the company.
The Teva layoffs, the biggest in the company's history, are part of a restructuring plan announced by the company about a year ago as its target for 2017, which includes saving $1.5-2 billion.
The company's workers unions are expected to meet Thursday with Avi Nisenkorn, head of the Histadrut's professional guild in a bit to prevent the dismissals.
Calcalist reporter Shay Salinas contributed to this report
