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10 I Companies & Markets bne August 2020
Czech mining group OKD to shut down its mines for six weeks
bne IntelliNews
Czech state-owned hard coal mining group OKD closed all its mining operations for next six weeks starting on July 3, to mitigate a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the company announced in a press release.
“Since we registered the first infected employee, we have taken many anti-epidemic measures, we have complied with all regulations of the Regional Hygiene Station, including restrictions on contact between shifts,” said the chairman
of the board of directors of OKD Vanda Stankova.
“However, testing at the CSM mine confirmed the high incidence of positive cases. We are not epidemiological experts and we still fully trust experts in regional hygiene, but after considering the above, we ourselves decided to shut
Turkey hit by VW’s scrapping of auto plant plan and refusal by Europe to list country as safe for tourism
bne IntelIiNews
Turkey on July 1 was coming to terms with two big blows dealt by Europe to its fragile economy. Firstly, Germany’s Volkswagen said the blow to demand caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis meant a proposal for it to build
a $1.4bn auto plant in Turkey – already in doubt given union protests against investing in a country responsible for human rights offences during its incursion into northeast Syria last October – was no longer under consideration. Secondly, the European Union showed no sign of backtracking from a decision to exclude Turkey from a list of countries recommended for non-
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mines for six weeks at all OKD mines,” Stankova added.
“Subsequently, we will only perform the necessary work to ensure the safety of the mine. They will be maintained by around 200 employees at each location. ... In addition to mining, the interruption also concerns the excavation of mine workings,” noted OKD's director of operations David Hajek.
“To date, 158 employees, mostly from the Darkov locality, have returned to work after the illness. We are very pleased that the majority of our sick employees have an asymptomatic course of the disease, however, we consider it responsible to shut mining for six weeks anyway and adapt the operation
to the current situation,” added OKD executive director Radim Tabasek.
A VW Beetle in Giresun, Turkey. Not a pleasant sight for many Turkish officials right now.
essential travel amid the pandemic, causing Ankara to tell the bloc to correct the “mistake” as soon as possible.
Volkswagen made it clear it now saw no point in building
a new factory in Turkey or in a nearby country, saying that the steep drop in demand for cars worldwide caused by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic meant the manufacturing capacity was no longer needed.
The drafted plan was to build a plant in Manisa on Turkey’s