The Autonomous Metal Workers’ Trade Union of Serbia is calling for an urgent session of the Social-Economic Council due to a very serious situation in both automobile and defense industries.
Namely, there has been an alarming drop in activities and orders on the European market. As a result, Serbian factories are facing considerably lower production volumes, which directly influences the growing number of redundant workers.
The Autonomous Metal Workers’ Union of Serbia has already warned about the challenges faced by the factories in this sector, as well as the negative impact on employment. In 2025, for more than legally allowed 45 days, 12,640 workers were on paid leave, receiving 60% of their salary. Later, this resulted in 6,000 dismissals, and this negative trend is continuing in 2026.
Situation in YURA company in Leskovac is particularly worrying. The company announced additional reduction in production and intends to offer its workers a mutual agreement to terminate their employment contracts. Moreover, company submitted a request to place 300 workers on a paid leave for the entire year of 2026. Similar measures are announced at other automobile factories, as well.
Even though these measures are being conducted in line with the existing legal regulations of the Republic of Serbia, the fact that most workers in those factories have less than 10 years of service presents a problem. This means that in case of redundancy their severance pay is going to be less than € 1,709, which is insufficient to meet basic living needs.
At the meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Đuro Macut, the Autonomous Metal Workers’ Union of Serbia presented the situation and stressed the need for an urgent, concrete and responsible reaction from the competent authorities, social partners and the state to prevent further job losses and social degradation of workers in this sector.
The Union warns that any delay in decision-making will result in direct responsibility for mass dismissals, especially in underdeveloped regions of Serbia, and demands that the state play an active role in protecting workers.
Trade unionists expect urgent and systematic measures to be taken so that workers affected by crisis in the automobile industry could receive real, not declarative protection, with clear deadlines and responsibility for public officials.
