Construction companies aren’t planning any layoffs, despite significant drop in the industry’s output. Data compiled by Czech statistical office shows output fell by 10.2 percent y-o-y in the first eight months of 2016. Infrastructure construction saw the biggest decrease, reporting a drop of 15.6 percent. Metrostav has 5,000 employees, of which 1,500 work abroad. The company’s spokesman, Vojtěch Kostiha, says that cross-border orders account for one-third of Metrostav’s output. Strabag with a staff of 2,137 staff is not planning any layoffs either. Hochtief employs 1,000 people, and its chairman, Tomáš Koranda, considers this number optimal for the company. Construction companies report they have enough work, as they are increasingly focusing on cross-border orders mainly in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Germany and Scandinavia. Skanska, for example, recently signed a deal in Slovakia worth CZK 5.3bn.
