Siemens factory to close in Prague, causing nearly 1,000 redundancies

The Siemens factory in Zličín in Prague is definitively to close, it was announced on Thursday, creating nearly 1,000 redundancies. No investor could be found to take over the factory, which made trains for Prague’s metro and other rail operators, a company spokesperson said. On Thursday, Siemens announced that it was now only in negotiations with investors interested in the factory’s equipment and machinery. Union chiefs, however, said that it was ‘premature’ to talk about a definitive shut-down of the Siemens factory and that an investor still may be found. Siemens voiced its intention to pull out of Prague in July 2008.