The support of the Economic Chamber of Macedonia in the current period is also directed towards the member companies of the Council of Foreign Investors in the chamber. Given their relative importance to total Macedonian exports, the number of employees in these companies and the fact that they absorb a significant portion of the workforce outside Skopje, it is important to know what will happen in the coming period in this segment of the Macedonian economy as well, Zoran Jovanovski, chief adviser to the Economic Chamber’s Board of Directors, said on Thursday.

He said that global developments with the coronavirus have imposed a halt to the work of automotive companies around the world. In such circumstances, companies in the country, members of the Council of Foreign Investors within the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, are forced, not by their own choice, to completely or largely discontinue production for at least a few weeks.

But despite such adverse developments and serious financial consequences, the member companies of the Council of Foreign Investors within the Economic Chamber of Macedonia are making efforts and measures not to lay off workers, planning to use certain modality but primarily wanting to keep the employees. Thus, companies plan to use the forthcoming period of production interruption to deliver training for employees or employees to take unused regular vacation leave from last year and a small part of this year’s vacation leave, eventual use of forced leave, etc. These are encouraging steps in the given situation, said Jovanovski.