Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic said on Friday the number of surplus employees in the Zagreb Holding multi-utility conglomerate was being discussed by the management and the unions.

Asked by the press if it was true that over 500 people would be laid off, he said there were reports and ongoing meetings. He is confident that “what the real surplus is will be established”, that surplus employees will get severance pay, and that some will leave of their own accord.

“Everyone agrees that there are definitely surplus employees in Holding and everyone agrees that this should be dealt with urgently.”

Tomasevic said Zagreb Holding was 5 billion kuna in debt which it could not service, adding that the losses were untenable and called for a turnabout, which he said could not be achieved only by downsizing, but by public procurement control and other business models as well.

That combined should suffice for Holding to  stop operating at a loss, he said. “That must occur this year because next year we must reschedule the debt and the bonds due.”

Asked if this meant that all services would become more expensive, Tomasevic said he did not expect major rises and certainly not for all Zagreb Holding services. He added, however, that “given the inflation and higher energy prices, nothing can be ruled out.”