The move for Asian companies to set up operations in Europe is growing and Linglong chose Serbia as their location but not without controversy
Linglong clarifies its stance on right for workers at its Serbian Plant
However, the Serbian plant has not gone without question in the Serbian media, which was picked up by the tyre industry press, including Commercial Tyre Business.
Commercial Tyre Business asked why Linglong chose Serbia for its plant? Serbia is outside the European Union. Did Serbia offer greater incentives to establish the plant in their country? It has been stated that Linglong will be paid a premium of 50,000 Euros for every job created.
Linglong responded: “Serbia’s strategic location, on the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe provides access to key markets. Along with the government initiatives are growing economy as well as the strong relationships between China and Serbia made it an excellent choice for our expansion. Even though we have been present to the EU market for the past 11 years, collaborating with over 71 tyre sellers across the market. Serbia is an excellent market to raise our competitive position.”
On a more contentious issue in Europe; Commercial Tyre Business asked about the reports of poorly treated immigrant labour being used to build the plant – engaged by a sub-contractor. Surely, Linglong would have some say in how the sub-contractor treated its employees?
“Respect for human rights, the provision of good working conditions and compliance with environmental standards are of the utmost importance to us,” responded the Linglong spokesman. “ All our business activities are carried out in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia and the requirements for humane and legally prescribed working conditions. Linglong takes its responsibility very seriously and regularly audits itself and its business partners to ensure compliance. The accusations are many years old and relate to subcontractors – not to us as a company. Immediately upon knowing the criticism at that time, Linglong took several measures to help its subcontractors to improve the living conditions of its employees. However, Linglong parted ways with these subcontractors back in 2022.”
It is reassuring that Linglong acted in dealing with the sub-contractor, it is also telling that the media still carries historical allegations that could be harmful to Linglongs’ reputation.
On commercial issues, will the Serbian plant give Linglong an advantage in trading in the European Union? The EU has reduced tariffs on Chinese tyres, but they do still remain. Will operating the plant in Serbia, – still outside the EU – give an advantage in avoiding tariffs?
Here, Linglong did not fully address the question but reinforced its reasons for choosing Serbia for its European plant. “Following the development and trends of the automotive industry and our company’s development plans, we implemented a plan to build a factory in Europe, more precisely in Serbia, to be as competitive as possible and to make our products available and delivered to our customers in Europe in the shortest possible time,” concluded Linglong.
