Bjelin Confirms 59 Layoffs in Bjelovar – Is the Plant in Ogulin Closing?

Bjelin Group, a Swedish manufacturer of flooring and furniture under the control of Swedish businessman of Croatian descent Darko Pervan, has announced the elimination of 59 jobs at its Bjelovar plant. The reason, as stated in the company’s press release, is a reorientation towards high-tech solutions due to market conditions.

– In response to prolonged weaker demand, increasing pressure on prices, and rising production costs in sawmills and other solid products, Bjelin is accelerating its strategic reorientation towards high-tech and sustainable solutions based on veneer. As part of this transition, employees at the Bjelovar plant have been informed about the planned reduction in the number of employees. A total of 59 jobs are expected to be eliminated – stated in the press release Fredrik Alfredsson, CEO of Bjelin Group AB.

The sawmill remains strategically important due to location and logistics

The sawmill and factory in the Bjelovar area will continue to operate, among other reasons, due to its strategic location, which, because of its proximity to Zagreb, offers significant advantages for future development and logistics. The company has firmly rejected speculation and inaccurate information about the installation of additional fencing at the Bjelovar location, which has appeared in local media. The observed increase in security, they stated in the press release, is a result of personnel changes due to the outsourcing of security services.

– Bjelin is in active dialogue with union representatives and will continue to share notices and information with complete transparency as the process develops. Although this is a transition period, our focus remains on building a resilient and future-oriented organization – the press release states.

Is the Ogulin plant closing?

It is worth noting that Bjelin had already canceled the need for 200 jobs at the Ogulin plant last year, which was also accompanied by a company press release promising restructuring and reorientation towards sustainable production of floors, furniture, and veneer. In general, the wood industry in Croatia is feeling the effects of a slowdown in European markets that traditionally consume wood products from Croatia due to high demand in construction. Additionally, Anđelka Salopek from HDZ today shared a copy of the management’s notice to the workers of the production plant in Ogulin on Facebook, informing them that the production plant will cease operations on December 19. Salopek noted that this concerns the remaining 50 workers from the Ogulin plant. We were unable to obtain a comment on these claims from Pervan’s Bjelin yesterday.