BUDAPEST, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Hungarian commercial vehicle maker Raba Rt will layoff 175 staff, close to seven percent of its headcount, at its Raba Futomu Kft axle unit, the MTI national news agency said on Thursday.
Raba's Human Resources Director Ferenc Vissi told MTI the company was not halting any manufacturing, but was trimming headcount in a bid to improve efficiency.
Vissi said the company would offer 90 jobs, currently filled by non-staff hired workers, to those affected by the job cuts, as well as offer early retirement to other staff. Last week Raba posted a net 2002 loss of 2.48 billion forints ($10.82 million) on sales of 39.4 billion.
The company's axle unit has targeted 2003 sales of 29 billion forints, against 25 billion last year, MTI said.
Raba shares closed earlier on Thursday at 990 forints, up 10 forints or 1.02 percent.
No one at the company was immediately available to comment on the agency report.