Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at January 13th, 2009

A total of 54,700 automotive workers lost their jobs from the Turkish sector’s top producing province of Bursa in 2008, a labor union representative told Anatolian Agency on Tuesday.

Turkish automakers cut 54,700 jobs in leading Bursa province in 2008

The job cuts that are mainly due to the rising fall in domestic and foreign demand which intensified in the last quarter, has reached a level of concern, Mehmet Kanca, representative of Turk-Is labor union said.

“We are facing figures which exceed our estimations… A total of 5,683 workers were laid-off in October, while this figures were 9,283 in November and 9,397 workers in December,” Kanca said adding that the cumulative job cuts in the last quarter of 2008 registered as much as 24,368.

Kanca, also said that the figures resulted in a monthly average of 4,725 lost jobs, a level which was concerning.

The Turkish subsidiaries of Italian Fiat and French Renault have production facilities in Bursa province, as well as Germany’s Bosch, supplier of diesel engine technologies to several automakers. More than 80 percent of the automotive output in the province is exported.

Kanca also said that the expectation for 2009 was no better than in 2008 and urged for measures which would particularly protect purchasing power and boost domestic demand.

“Excise tax and value added tax (VAT) should be either removed or reduced to a minimum… Incentives should be given to purchasing locally produced vehicles.”

Recent economic data has shown the financial crisis hitting Turkey hard — economic growth hit a six-year low in the third quarter, when gross domestic product expanded just 0.5 percent year-on-year. (more…)

Posted by meb at January 8th, 2009

The Turkish domestic market for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) shrunk by 17 percent last year, from 594,762 individual recorded sales in 2007 to 494,023 in 2008.

According to statistics provided by the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD), car sales in 2008 decreased to 305,998, a drop of 14.4 percent compared to 2007. The total sales of LCVs dropped also, down to 188,025 with a 20.8 percent fall on 2007.

In December 2008, the total number of sales within the Turkish automotive market was 42,078 — 25,879 were cars and 16,199 were LCVs. Car sales for December 2008 decreased by 58 percent compared to December 2007 while the decrease in demand for LCVs was almost identical, 59 percent, in the same period. (more…)

Posted by meb at January 2nd, 2009

The automotive industry in Turkey, like so many other countries throughout the world, entered a period of stagnation in the second half of 2008 as the global financial crisis, coupled with a resulting drop in demand, slowed the industry’s production lines.

Tens of thousands of workers relying on work in the sector to feed their families have lost their jobs and the gloomy situation is expected to get even worse in 2009. It is estimated that just in Bursa, a major center of auto manufacturing in Turkey, nearly 55,000 people will be laid off this year. Experts say the crisis will get even deeper in 2009 and the first positive signs will only be seen by early 2010. Many companies have already started to grant their workers temporary leave as they halt production for two-to-four-week periods. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 24th, 2008

The number of airline passengers in Turkey reached 66 million in the first 10 months of 2008, an increase of 6.3 percent over the same period last year, the State Airports Management General Directorate (DHMİ) announced yesterday.

Nearly 7 million people traveled by air in October, an 8.2 percent increase over the same month of 2007. The total number of flights in January-October 2008 increased by 7.4 percent over the same period of 2007.

In the first 10 months of 2008, İstanbul Atatürk Airport saw 20.1 million passengers, while Antalya Airport followed with 17.7 million passengers. İzmir’s Adnan Menderes Airport had the third-largest number of travelers, welcoming 4.7 million people, while Esenboğa Airport in Ankara hosted 4.6 million people in the same period. Aviation companies in Turkey have continued their attractive promotional campaigns, discounting airfares despite the ongoing global financial crisis. This has led to more people showing a greater interest in air travel. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 23rd, 2008

Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkey’s national air carrier, announced yesterday that it had bought 49 percent of Bosnian Airlines (B&H Airlines).

In a written statement, THY said the partnership agreement was signed after the Bosnian government approved the sale. The sale was approved on Nov. 23, but THY Chairman Candan Karlıtekin said they continued talks with their Bosnian counterparts to finalize the sale. THY is expected to have three representatives on the B&H Airlines executive board and does not plan to go beyond the 49 percent share. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 5th, 2008

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Turkey’s central province Aksaray is shuttering operations for five weeks over the next couple of months amid declining demand in the face of the credit crisis.

The company told its suppliers this week in an emailed message that it would stop production in December 25 until February 2, 2009.

Mercedes-Benz produces trucks in its plant and employees around 1,500 people. It targeted to produce 17,000 units of trucks in 2008.
source: Hurriyet daily news

Posted by meb at December 4th, 2008

European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, and Turkish Airspace Industries (TAI) signed on Thursday a $500 million agreement for TAI to produce parts for the A350 passenger plane.

The companies said in a statement that 400 people would be employed directly as a result of the accord, while 1,200 people would gain indirect employment.

Tusas Chief Executive Atalay Efeer said this would be the first big-scale aircraft production program for Tusas in the civil aviation industry.

He added the mid-sized long-range A350 has already had 4,060 orders as of November. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 4th, 2008

Car sales in Turkey slumped 58.5 percent in November compared to the same period last year, the fifth consecutive decline, as the global credit crisis and a declining lira curbed spending, the Automotive Distributors’ Association (ODD) announced Wednesday.

The ODD said the total number of passenger cars and commercial vehicles sold in Turkey since January had dropped by 8.5 percent compared to 2007.

A total of 280,119 passenger cars and 171,826 commercial vehicles were sold in Turkey since January marking a 5.3 percent decline in the sales of passenger cars and 13.3 percent in commercial vehicles, it added. (more…)