June the 27th, 2022 - Croatian employers are requesting work permits for would-be foreign employees left, right and centre. With demographic issues and difficulties finding qualified local staff continuing to bite, MUP is having trouble getting through the paperwork in time for the height of the summer season.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the ongoing problem of staff shortages escalated for Croatian employers last summer, and this year it has become even more pronounced because there are more guests, this tourist season could be better than that of 2019, and the desire to travel is great, leading some to describe it as being as if the dam has given way.

There is as much labour here on the domestic labour market as there is, and it isn't enough. As such, Croatian employers are continuing to turn to foreign workers from outside the EEA/EU who need work permits, Novi list reports.

Croatian employers say that even the pool often used in neighbouring non-EEA/EU countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia has been emptied, meaning that more and more workers are being brought in from distant countries like India, Nepal, the Philippines… To work in Croatia legally, non-EU foreigners, of course, need work permits. And there was a big problem with this at MUP last year as well.

People came from abroad and stayed in workers' accommodation units for weeks, until they got their work permits and began work. The tourism sector asked last year for MUP to speed up the process of issuing work permits, however, in principle the only thing that has changed is that applications can now be submitted online instead of being taken to administrative police stations in person. Despite very small changes, just like in previous years, overworked MUP employees continue to deal with all of these requests manually, one by one.

Robert Palic, an employer in tourism from Crikvenica, who has five catering and hospitality facilities in the very centre, explained what it looks like in practice. He applied for about fifty work permits back in early May and hasn't even received even half to date. However, he says, in the meantime, ten work permits have practically been made pointless because people gave up in the meantime and went and found another job elsewhere.

"There were seven Nepalese nationals among them. I paid the agency through which I can employ these people 10,500 kuna to bring those seven people to Croatia, and then another 4,000 kuna for their work permits. With the proviso that they had to come to New Delhi to the embassy with a work permit to get a visa. When I was told that work permits would be ready, those people headed to New Delhi which is, let's not forget, 550 kilometres away from their homes. They waited there for three days for their work permits to arrive to pick up their visas. However, as those work permits didn't arrive. So of course those people gave up on it,'' Palic explained.

He added that at the administrative police station in Crikvenica he asked if he could return those work permits or get the costs taken away for the paid for the work permits he'd paid for for other workers, because he obviously doesn't need these for Nepalese nationals anymore, but they said that no, he can't.

"I'm losing workers, I'm losing money, and on top of that I have to find a dozen new workers overnight. Until a few days ago, I had all my facilities closed because I can't complete my team, and it's already the middle of June,'' added Palic.

“I understand those two women who have to process all these requests and who are overwhelmed with work, but then things need to be arranged differently, more people need to be hired by MUP, as needed, or the whole story needs to be digitised. After all, the coronavirus pandemic taught us how to deal with everything online. Let them put themselves in my position, the tourist season is here, and there are no people, I can’t do all this and only have three workers. My employees who are already working, can’t do the whole season on their own, it’s unbearable, so I urgently need to find more workers. I need to find them tomorrow, not in a month's time,'' pointed out Palic.

The search for workers did indeed set off on time in Palic's case, but the paperwork issues and MUP's outdated way of handling administrative procedures clearly clouded the plans.

Quotas for foreign workers were abolished, but things are no easier...

When asked by the press about the situation with work permits this year, the Police Administration of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County told us that by Wednesday, June the 5th, the Crikvenica Police Station had received a total of 1,258 applications for residence and work permits for non-EU citizens.

"This number refers not only to seasonal work up to 90 days, but also to the extension of existing permits to one year and the request of the CES application, which includes seasonal work up to six months and so-called ''new employment'' for a period of one year. As for the number of requests received compared to the same period last year, it has more than doubled,'' they said from MUP.

"Every year, there's a growing problem when it comes to finding quality workers in Serbia, because instead of coming to Croatia, more and more of them are going off to work in Western European countries. So there's a shortage of people in this pool of ours as well. And that's why we will all have to look more and more for workers from more distant countries. As for the Nepalese, the idea was to have a dozen of them this year and then have them return home satisfied because then they'll say how much it pays to come here to work, so I'll be able to count on, let's say, 20 employees from this country. And that gives me some sense of security in a situation when this pool of ours is almost empty,'' said Palic, just one of many Croatian employers facing this huge problem which keeps on escalating each and every year.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

June 2, 2022 - For the thirteenth year in a row, the most desirable employer in Croatia is the company dm - drogerie markt. In second place is the retail chain Lidl Croatia, and in third place is the Rimac Group, according to a survey by the MojPosao (MyJob) portal published on Thursday.

The survey was conducted for the eighteenth year in a row, and this time during the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 it was conducted on a sample of more than 24 thousand respondents, reports tportal.hr. It is based exclusively on the respondents' perception of the companies themselves, and its goal was to find out which employers in the Croatian labor market are the most attractive to the general public and why.

Respondents were asked to name the employer of the "first", "second" and "third" choice, with the "first" getting three, the "second" two, and the "third" one point, based on which the overall ranking was calculated.

Thus, dm - drogerie markt won 19.08 percent of the points, Lidl Hrvatska 5.57 percent of the points, and Rimac Group 4.44 percent of the points.

"The domestic company (finally) entered the top three most desirable employers in Croatia", commented the MojPosao portal on Rimac Group's new position in the ranking.

The most important: job security

Unlike in previous years, when harmonious workplace relationships were the most important factor in evaluating the degree of attractiveness of a particular employer, in the last two years the most "crucial" votes, 43 percent, have been job security. Harmonious relations in the workplace are the decisive reason for attractiveness for 40 percent of respondents, while in third place, with 37 percent of the vote, is the social responsibility of the employer.

The amount of salary and other material benefits are a crucial factor in the attractiveness of 35 percent of respondents, which is slightly more than last year, the survey showed.

For respondents for whom dm-drogerie markt is the employer of the first choice, job security is crucial, but the level of salary, harmonious relations in the workplace, and the social responsibility of the employer are equally important. Lidl is a desirable employer primarily because of job security, and Rimac mostly because of harmonious relations in the workplace.

dm-drogerie-markt is the first choice employer for respondents from all regions

Dm-drogerie markt is most attractive to both men and women, but more to women than men. It is the same company and the most desirable employer for all respondents, regardless of their level of education, but it has the highest scores among those with secondary education.

Regardless of employment status, dm-drogerie markt is the employer of choice for all groups of respondents, although it is somewhat less attractive to respondents who are still in school.

Also, dm-drogerie-markt is the first choice employer for respondents from all Croatian regions.

Among other things, the survey showed that almost half of employed respondents often think about changing employers, a third think about it sometimes, and a fifth do not think about it at all.

For more, check out our business section.

ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - Opposition MPs said on Thursday, ahead of a debate on changes to the Minimum Wage Act, that nobody was against the minimum wage being raised but not in such a way to make employers cover the cost. 

Marin Lerotić of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) said his party was against employers covering the cost of a higher minimum wage, wondering when the serious discussion would begin about tax reliefs and stimulation of industries, notably export-oriented ones.

Davor Bernardić of the Social Democrats said PM Andrej Plenković's announcement of a HRK 350 increase in the minimum wage was a show, adding that people live poorly and noting that 200,000 people have left the Slavonia region.

Peđa Grbin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that realistically, nobody could be against the PM's announcement but that the entire wage policy should be discussed.

Generally, wages are low, and when inflation is added to that, it is clear that not even the average wage suffices for a normal living, let alone the minimum wage, Grbin said.

Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) said the prime minister was "feeling generous" yet wanted somebody else to pay the bill. That is what the minimum wage bill is about, she said.

"If the prime minister really wants to be generous... he should raise the non-taxable income to HRK 5,000, as suggested by entrepreneurs," she said.

Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front said that the bill, under which the minimum wage would have to be agreed in its gross amount and employers who fail to do so would be penalized, would not bring anything good to 52,000 workers receiving the minimum wage.

The bill is unconstitutional and the amendments will only serve to improve the statistics, she said.

Hrvoje Zekanović of the Croatian Sovereignists said that employers were avoiding the government's measures, citing the example of a woman from Šibenik whose minimum wage did not increase at all after it was raised for the last two times. However, on paper her working hours were first reduced from eight to six and then to four, he said.

Employers are avoiding compliance with the government's measures by registering their workers as working six or four hours a day, so we are doing those workers a disservice instead of helping them, Zekanović said, calling the government's measures as 'cosmetic ones'.

Majda Burić of the ruling HDZ party said that the institute of minimum wage was a very sensitive one and had to be approached seriously, which, she said, the government was doing.

The gross minimum wage amounts to HRK 4,250, and the net amount is HRK 3,400, she said, adding that as of January 2022 the net amount would rise by HRK 350. Annually, that is an increase of 10.3%, the highest so far, she said.

She recalled that during the Andrej Plenković governments' terms in the past five years, the minimum wage had been raised by a gross amount of HRK 1,567 and a net amount of HRK 1,254.

During the term of the SDP-led government, it was raised by HRK 179, she said.

(€1 = HRK 7.521247)

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, November 30, 2020 - Economy Minister Tomislav Coric said on Sunday evening that during the weekend, the government's delegation led by Finance Minister Zdravko Maric had listened to the proposals of employers for measures to ease their situation after the imposition of tighter anti-COVID restrictions. 

Coric told the RTL commercial broadcaster that the government was fully aware of the adverse impact of the latest epidemic prevention measures on certain businesses and that the government would propose compensatory measures on Monday.

We will continue implementing the scheme of grants in the amount of HRK 4,000 per employee per month, the minister said and that employers will have access to the so-called COVID loans and that some of their fixed costs would be covered through the assistance provided by the government.

All those proposals will be discussed during their meetings on Monday.

HUP expects gov't to accept one of their models of compensation 

The Croatian Employment Association (HUP) said on Monday morning that they would insist on the the acceptance of any of the two models presented by bar and restaurant owners last Thursday to help them survive the new partial lockdown, saying that otherwise many of them would go bankrupt.

The first model envisages long-term compensation by slashing VAT to 5% for three years and to 13% over a longer term, and providing job-retention aid until April 2021, i.e. HRK 4,000 per employee and writing off taxes and contributions until 1 May 2021.

They also proposed compensation of €10 per square metre of their establishment, COVID loans to ensure liquidity for three years and a moratorium on loan payments for businesses which are not allowed to work.

The second model envisages ensuring revenue for entrepreneurs in the amount of 50% of their turnover at the same time last year as a direct grant which would also be used for salaries, including a contribution write-off.

This model also envisages exemption from all fixed liabilities for the duration of the lockdown, including rent and utilities. Exemption from parafiscal levies was also proposed.

ZAGREB, Aug 2, 2020 - Four-fifths of Croatian companies are bracing for an economic downturn this year, and 70% of them say that the biggest help to them would be a reduction of fiscal and parafiscal charges in the next year, shows a survey conducted by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), which has about 6,000 members.

Furthermore, 36% of those polled say that their priorities are better transparency, digitalisation and a smaller and more efficient state and public administration. They are also hoping for longer deferrals of tax payments during the corona crisis.

One in 12 employers expect a rise in revenues

The survey, conducted in June, shows that as many as 78% of employers expect a decline in their revenues in 2020 in comparison to 2019, and half of them expect a fall of above 20%. On the other hand, 14% of those polled expect the same level of revenues as in the previous year, while eight percent expect a rise in their revenues this year.

The HUP acting director-general, Damir Zoric, said that the findings of the survey show that the priority of employers is a further reduction of the tax burden.

As reported by Marina Šunjerga/Poslovni Dnevnik on November 13, 2019; Emil Tedeschi, the largest real-sector employer in Croatia, reveals two of the most important factors in employee retention. He currently employs more than 5500 people in the Atlantic Grupa company.

This year Poslovni Dnevnik and Vecernji List will again present the most prestigious business awards in the country. The award of “Master of Business” and “Economic Event of the Year” will be presented to the most successful and strongest businessman and event in Croatia, whose business or influence crucially impacts economic trends in the country and improves the economic and social climate.

Emil Tedeschi, after leaving Ivica Todorić's business sphere, is the largest real-sector employer in Croatia. Atlantic Grupa, which has generated HRK 4 billion in sales revenue in the first nine months of this year, has continued to develop since the 1990s, when it emerged on the regional scene, taking over numerous companies, among which Droga Kolinska is the most famous, of course.

Ambience and Security are Important

Tedeschi, who currently employs more than 5500 people, recently announced that he is seriously considering introducing a four-day work week. 

“I am sad that we are successful in a failed society. For years, I have been talking about the responsibility of the elite but will continue to insist that people in high positions in different spheres of society also carry a responsibility. In the past, the saying "noblesse oblige" was valid, the nobility obliged, and today it can be said that the leadership obliged. Along with the various benefits that a leadership position carries, it entails far more obligations and responsibilities than the wider community,” he expressed to Vecernji List. In this context, Tedeschi is working on managing and implementing new business practices within his company. He is among the first entrepreneurs to make the most of the opportunity offered by tax reform to reward employees, and last year gave them additional bonuses of HRK 7,500, which are non-taxable under new regulations. He is also considering introducing a four-day work week. Tedeschi explained that he wants to attract a workforce of professionals, but, more importantly, devise a effective way to retain them. The most important factors in retaining a good employee are ambience and security, he indicated.

"Responsible employees are also concerned with a range of benefits which include a quality work environment, a corporate culture and a good balance of leisure and work, and we are seriously considering a four-day work week," Tedeschi said.

This new global trend has already shown results, so it has been empirically proven that employees who work on this model are 20 percent more productive than employees who have more traditional working hours. The four-day workweek movement has since expanded everywhere, with most of the advocates appearing in the UK and Germany, where it has been embraced by many small businesses offering a wide range of intellectual services. In the context of his view that entrepreneurs must have a social responsibility, he gave a talk in which he took on the role of a social chronicler, and not a businessman, but analysts were not surprised by the appearance of this businessman.

At the time, he said at that Croatia had two resources: people and nature, but people are still leaving! He added that it would be great if we only had ideas of ​places for them to return.

He Will Not Remain Silent About Todorić

Lately, Tedeschi has been speaking very openly about the 'Croatian silence' in the Agrokor case, particularly, how our society allowed 'that Frankenstein of Agrokor management' to happen, and to Vecernji List he claimed that "Todorić acted as a sultan, he made his own decisions, and by his way of running the company he blundered not just a decade but an epoch."

His Atlantic Grupa originated from the acquisition of several trading companies but has grown into a company that boasts significant production. The most famous brands in Croatia are Cedevita and Barcaffè. However, after taking Droga Kolinka under the Atlantic umbrella, they have also acquired the Donat and Cockta brands. The well-known Argeta and Smoki brands, which are produced by the Soko Štark factory, are produced under the company as well. Lovers of local delicacies are also familiar with the Bakina tajna brand, but its financial impact is only a minor part of Atlantic Grupa's business.

Follow our business section for more updates and developments in Croatia.

As Frenki Lausic/Novac writes on the 10th of August, 2019, the number of insured persons exceeded 1.6 million at the end of July and reached the figure of 1,600,405, according to data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute. This means that compared to pre-recession July 2008, when the figure stood at 1.639 million, there are only 39,000 insured persons less.

Thus, the total number of insured persons at HZMO increased by 0.4 percent on a monthly basis and 2.4 percent on an annual basis, meaning that compared to July 2018, the number of insured persons increased by 37 thousand.

The number of insured persons at HZMO has in recent years almost taken the lead in determining the number of employees in Croatia, although two other methods are officially used, and both of them show employment growth.

According to data from the Croatian Central Bureau of Statistics, according to the so-called “administrative method” used by the Croatian Tax Administration, the number of employees in June stood at 1,451,541 and in June 2018, it stood at 1,432,701, which means that in June 2019, the number of employees increased by 19 thousand at the annual level.

However, due to changes in the method, it isn't possible to compare 2008 and 2019 according to the above-mentioned statistics. According to a third method, a labour force survey, also conducted by the CBS, which is also the official statistical method recognised by the European Union, ie the Eurostat umbrella statistical authority, the number of employees is increasing.

According to the labour force survey, for the first quarter of this year, the number of employees on Croatian territory stood at 1.66 million, while in the same quarter of 2018, it was 1.61 million. According to this method, the number of employees increased by 50 thousand. Still, there remains a big difference in the recording of employment growth between the CBS, HZMO and the labour force survey.

For example, in June this year, the number of HZMO insured persons increased by 40 thousand and the number of employees under the CBS administrative method increased by 19 thousand. This is partly explained by the fact that one who is unemployed can pay for his/her own pension, or simply work abroad.

Thus, at the end of June, of 1.59 million HZMO policyholders, 1.36 million were employed by legal entities, 122,193 were employed by natural persons, 66,933 were employed in an obrt (craft), 19,628 were insured farmers, 19,314 were insured in independent professional activities, 88 of them were insured persons employed by international organisations abroad and Croatian nationals employed on the territory of the Republic of Croatia with employers based abroad, while 4715 had extended insurance.

Croatia reached the level of gross domestic product from 2008 this year, and in all likelihood, it will reach the same level of policyholders as back in 2008. This, despite the differences compared to the dynamics of growth provided by the CBS administrative method, nevertheless speaks of a positive dynamic in the the labour market, especially when looking at the labour force survey, but it would be good for CBS and HZMO to finally do something about too much "discrepancy" when it comes to their respective numbers and methods.

RBA analysts, who analyzed HZMO data for July this year, noted that, despite seasonal fluctuations in the labor market, positive annual rates of growth in the number of policyholders have been present since the second quarter of 2015, reflecting the recovery in economic activity and, consequently, the strengthening of labor demand. The growth of insured persons on a monthly basis of 6822 persons is a consequence, they note, of growth in many industries.

However, they emphasise that the noticeable and expected growth in the number of insured persons in the provision of accommodation and food preparation and services is a mere consequence of seasonal employment and an increasing orientation towards tourism-related activities.

In these sectors, the monthly growth of insured persons amounted to 4343 or 3.4 percent, while, on the other hand, the education sector (as it has in previous years) recorded a sharp decrease in the number of insured persons in July, totaling 2656 or 2.4 percent less, but their numbers are likely to increase in September with the turning of a new academic year.

At the annual level, the largest contribution to the growth of insured persons came from the construction industry, in which the total number of insured persons in July amounted to 114,438 persons, which marks 7.5 percent growth on an annual basis.

“In the first seven months of 2019, the average number of insured persons amounted to 1.549 million, which is 2.3 percent or 34,487 more than in the same period in 2018. The largest contribution to the growth of the average number of insured persons in the first seven months came from the construction industry whose share in the total of insured persons is 7.2 percent. With an average annual growth of 7.3 percent in the January-July period, a relatively high contribution to the overall increase of 22 percent is in line with present positive trends in construction,'' RBA's analysts said.

The largest number of employees, ie insured persons, are still in the manufacturing industry (16 percent, or 248,324), but after a slowdown in 2018, the annual number of policyholders since January 2019 has recorded a decrease in the number of policyholders annually in this industry (manufacturing participates with 80 percent in the overall Croatian industry).

Moreover, as the analysts point out, there is also a slight acceleration in an unfavourable trend, and in July the fall in the number of policyholders in the manufacturing industry was one percent per year. Thus, on average, 2.8 percent fewer persons were insured in manufacturing in the first seven months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

"This is very likely due to the fall in manufacturing output in 2018 and its modest growth in 2019. The growth in the number of policyholders will continue in the coming months, so according to this indicator, employment growth could amount to about two percent," the RBA analysts concluded.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and lifestyle pages for much more on the Croatian economy, the Croatian employment rate, and Croatian companies, products and services.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 7th of June, 2019, Venice is sinking, the Berlin metro is going to collapse into the earth, and the surface of the earth has risen in some places by up to two metres after the earthquake in Japan and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima - all this is what we know today thanks to the European Space Agency and the European Commission - Copernicus, worth more than ten billion euros, and presented recently at the premises of the Croatian Employers' Association in Zagreb.

This ambitious program monitors the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth's land surface, it is based on a satellite system designed for observing the earth, and the use and application of its data open up great opportunities for the Croatian economy.

At the program's presentation, prof. dr. sc. Željko Bačić from the Zagreb Geodetic Faculty highlighted the fact that the European Commission's studies show that by the year 2030, in terms of jobs directly related to Copernicus, as many as 48,000 work positions will be opened.

"By 2035, EO-based business and services will be worth 131 billion euros. Since Croatia represents 1 percent of the EU, we can draw a parallel and say that in Croatia alone, this segment of digital business should amount to 1.3 billion euros, which is now the volume of the total IT business in Croatia,'' Bačić said.

"We're well aware that information today is extremely important, but information that is spatially defined is of particular importance and concerns the geodetic profession. Geoinformatics is taking on an increasingly important role and combines classical geodesy and information technology, and geodetic and information technology companies are increasingly growing.

The interest of our profession is the faster development of geoinformatics. Here I see the potential and the prosperity for the economy and for the general population. We're happy to be involved in this project and we gladly responded to it. Collaboration with academic institutions is of utmost importance, so, we can see the importance of this project,'' said Željko Perić, president of the HUP Association of Geodetic Geoinformatics.

According to Boris Dril, President of the HUP Association for Information and Communication, this program is an excellent fit to the national coalition for digital skills and jobs, with the aim of developing an information and communication economy in Croatia. "It's not a scientific project in a lab that is only relevant to a narrower circle of people, but a research product to be applied to real life and show its value," Drilo stated.

To briefly recall, Copernicus was initially created to develop earth-based information services, satellite and in-situ data analysis, and the various services it provides helps to correctly address some of the most difficult environmental challenges we face today, such as food safety, sea levels rising, natural disasters, urbanisation, glaciers melting, and the comprehensive topic of climate change.

This Zagreb conference was taken from Estonia's shining example, which used its data to check if farmers were actually following the basic conditions for the use of agricultural subsidies. In this way, Copernicus helped to reduce the misuse of subsidies, and the savings yielded from that side of things alone amounted to about 500,000 euros a year.

It was also used for the mapping of groundwater floods in Ireland. Thanks to Copernicus, flood data can now be collected at a level that was previously considered inaccessible and thus provided timely information to the relevant bodies. Sentinel satellites used in the program can also be useful in discovering hidden cultural heritage sites for which we've searched for decades, as well point to hidden archaeological artefacts.

"Unlimited ways of applying this fascinating data that can strongly affect the future of the earth will soon be able to be contributed to by Croatian developers, entrepreneurs, and professionals of various profiles, as well as students and students through Copernicus Hackathon, a 24-hour contest where teams will create applications for data use,'' said Copernicus Hackathon's organiser, Zvonimir Nevistić, from the Zagreb Geodetic Faculty.

The aforementioned contest will be held on October the 23rd and 24th this year, with the aim of creating content that can significantly improve the quality of life, the economy, or the environmental protection in the chosen area of ​​application.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and lifestyle pages for more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow or check out Zagreb in a Page.

Istria is set to open up new possibilities for employment with the construction and expansion of numerous companies operating within the Vinež industrial zone.

When it comes to finding work or starting a business in Croatia, you're likely to be met with little but negative and somewhat depressing headlines. Reading about the state of the economy is enough to send anyone into a spiral of depression, but if you scrape below the surface a little, you'll see that not everything is quite so bleak in reality.

As Glas Istre/Branko Biocic writes on the 4th of June, 2019, other companies also operating within the Vinež industrial zone in Istria also have plans for the expansion of their respective plants, and the MCZ factory is working on its third line for pellet boiler production, the Bibetech plant is currently planning to build a new three-thousand-square-metre hall, and an additional building of another service-grade hall.

While plans are being ''cooked'', the construction of another hall in Istria's Vinež industrial zone has actually begun. This is part of the project of the company Danieli Systec, which started work on the construction of a new production hall covering a significant three thousand square metres. Works should be completed by the end of this year, and everything will be fitted with electrical cabinets.

This is one of the investments that further raises the level which has already been marked as one of the top three in the Republic of Croatia.

In addition to this particular investment, the aforementioned company is also looking forward to the arrival of an extremely interesting company, Novation TEch. This company hails from the Italian town of Montebelluna, which manufactures parts of carbon fibers, and boasts factories in Italy and neighbouring Hungary.

The plan of this renowned company that manufactures carbon fiber parts for well-known world brands such as Formula1, as well as numerous automotive giants such as BMW and McLaren Mercedes and parts of aerospace industry, is to begin construction early in autumn and in March of next year, it aims to start working on production.

In its plant, Novation Tech plans to employ as many as ninety workers in the next two years, of which thirty will gain employment at the very beginning of the factory's functioning, giving those looking for work in Istria a reason to brush up their CV's.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

More than excellent news for the Croatian job market and the domestic economy as a whole as as many as 600 jobs are set to be opened in Zagreb County thanks to a huge investment.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of May, 2019, parts for the aviation giants Boeing and Airbus will be produced in the Republic of Croatia. The parts will be incorporated into the world's most famous aircraft and their engines, including names like Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, and Rolls-Royce. The news was announced on Wednesday by Večernji list, citing that the Austrian aeronautical company FACC is beginning to construct a production plant for the interior parts of planes in the business zone of Jakovlje in Zagreb County, close to the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

The investment is worth a massive 33 million euros and will open up 600 jobs. The land has already been purchased, the necessary permissions and the permit have been granted and the construction has begun. The plant should be completed by the end of 2020 and production at the plant will commence in 2021.

This great news has also been confirmed by the head of the aforementioned Austrian company Robert Machtlinger, who stated that FACC wants to grow and be quicker than the market and intends to work on strengthening the expertise of its employees. "Zagreb is offering us this because it has a highly qualified workforce," he added.

The company chose between different locations in Central and Eastern Europe and ultimately decided on Zagreb. The sale contract has already been signed, and the Austrian company has become the owner of the land in the Jakovlje business area, totalling 130 thousand square metres.

Vecernji list also revealed that a meeting will take place on Wednesday in Banski Dvori where the President of FACC AGI's management board and the president of AVIC Cabin Systems Co. Limited from China, a company which owns 55.5 percent of the Austrian company, will talk to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Economy Minister Darko Horvat and State Secretary Zdenk Lucić about the project implementation and everything that goes into the planning and licensing phase.

The plan is that construction work on the plant will be completed by December 2020, and production will begin no later than April 2021, according to Dnevnik.

As a daughter company of the Chinese state-owned company Aviation Industry Corporation of China, one of the ten largest Chinese companies, FACC, based in Austria, is part of the global market and cooperates with world leaders in the aviation industry such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Rolls-Royce. FACC is otherwise a company with more than 3,400 employees from 38 countries which work in thirteen locations worldwide, Vecernji list writes.

They added that un the financial year 2018/2019, they earned 781.6 million euros in revenue, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the previous financial year, and also the best result in the company's thirty-year history.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.