After Bechtel and Enka, Genterm Prilep will also cut its workforce, confirmed Deputy Minister of Economy Marjan Risteski, who stated that the American company will reduce the number of workers at ZZHTI Prilep due to the modernization of production.
At the moment, there is no official confirmation of how many employees will be affected, while some local reports unofficially mention a figure of around 400 people and the possibility that part of the production will be transferred to Morocco, and part will return to Ukraine.
Risteski claims that the blow to the labor market in Prilep should be partially mitigated by the new factory of the German company VIK, which, according to his statement, should open in about a month in the same area. The government's message is that some of the people who will lose their jobs at Genterm may find employment there, but for now this remains an expectation, not a concrete plan with published figures.
The news comes just months after public announcements about Genterm's expansion in Prilep. In July 2025, it was announced that the company and the government had signed a new investment cycle worth more than 30 million euros, with the announcement of 300 additional new jobs, which makes today's confirmation of job cuts even more significant for the city.
In parallel, there are already reports of workforce reductions at Bechtel and Enka on Corridor 8. The Ministry of Transport announced that the engagement of workers and subcontractors is a contractual obligation of the contractor, and the company itself confirmed that it is adjusting workforce levels at different stages of the project and that all invoices have been paid in full by the government so far. With this, Prilep and the wider region are entering a new period of uncertainty, in which the local economy will again depend on whether the new announced investments will actually absorb some of the laid-off staff.
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