Romania: Greenbrier’s European subsidiary has announced the cessation of production at the plant, laying off 699 out of its 777 employees by July.
Orders will be transferred to two other sites in Romania, in Caracal and Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Another Greenbrier Europe railcar production facility is located in Świdnica, Poland.
The company cited multiple factors behind this decision, for example growing operational costs compared to other plants. There are also logistical constraints due to the plant’s age of 171 years and location in the centre of the town.
The 150,000 m2 plant in Arad, as well as two other Romanian sites, has been a joint venture of Greenbrier and local Astra Rail since 2016. Over its history, the JV has produced more than 250,000 freight cars, supplied to 35 countries. In total, the production capacity of Greenbrier’s Romanian sites is said to be 5,000 railcars per year.
