As for her salary, she earns €1,300 per month. "Good compared to other companies," she adds. And later on that will rise. Kia says the average at the facility is €2,400 per month.
That is substantially higher than the country's average monthly salary across the entire economy, which official figures show , externalwas €1,403 in 2023.
But at the same time it is considerably lower than the EU-wide average of €3,417.
Yes, that is my point. Also the final paragraph in the article:
Meanwhile, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Suzuki have facilities in Hungary, Ford and Renault are in Romania, and Ford is in Serbia. All are attracted by low wages, and a tradition of industry and educated workers.
That means "cheap labor" does not explain why Slovakia specifically is the "number one carmaker". Why not Hungary or Romania or Serbia?
The article also mentions something about the availability of low carbon emitting energy sources in Slovakia resulting in lower CO2 emissions per car produced. This seems to matter for car subsidies/tax breaks
Slovakia also had a lot of heavy industry, due to Czechoslovakia wanting that to be as far away from NATO as possible. Those skills were easily transfered to making cars. It is also a small country, so per capita is easy to reach. Clusters make a lot of sense. A lot of sense, as different car companies often have the same suppliers.
11 Comments
vpol@feddit.uk · 41 pts · 206d
TLDR; cheap labour.
As for her salary, she earns €1,300 per month. "Good compared to other companies," she adds. And later on that will rise. Kia says the average at the facility is €2,400 per month. That is substantially higher than the country's average monthly salary across the entire economy, which official figures show , externalwas €1,403 in 2023. But at the same time it is considerably lower than the EU-wide average of €3,417.
EfreetSK@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 206d
Hey it's not just that. We have also many other things like ... uhmm .... uhmmmm ... excuse me for one second
idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 206d
Slovakia carries the full NATO on her back
Economic superpower
copacetic@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 206d
Yes, it is not just that because cheap labor can be found elsewhere too.
Being close to Germany is also important, for example, and distinguishes it from Asian and African countries.
vpol@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 206d
I'm not sure Kia needs to be close to Germany. They just need cheap labour somewhere within the EU.
copacetic@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 206d
Yes, that is my point. Also the final paragraph in the article:
That means "cheap labor" does not explain why Slovakia specifically is the "number one carmaker". Why not Hungary or Romania or Serbia?
Quittenbrot@feddit.org · 7 pts · 206d
Not sure if actually the reason, but none of those have the Euro.
claimsou@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 205d
There were talks of VW moving away from SK to Romania at some point. But it never happened. They just want low labor with a hint of qualification…
vpol@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 206d
my guess: to avoid competition. more competition - higher salaries.
Mavytan@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 205d
The article also mentions something about the availability of low carbon emitting energy sources in Slovakia resulting in lower CO2 emissions per car produced. This seems to matter for car subsidies/tax breaks
Melchior@feddit.org · 11 pts · 206d
Slovakia also had a lot of heavy industry, due to Czechoslovakia wanting that to be as far away from NATO as possible. Those skills were easily transfered to making cars. It is also a small country, so per capita is easy to reach. Clusters make a lot of sense. A lot of sense, as different car companies often have the same suppliers.
Also Slovakia has the Euro.