China's Hisense creates 1,000 jobs at new Serbian fridge factory

BELGRADE, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The leading Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense inaugurated a new refrigerator plant in the city of Valjevo, central Serbia on Wednesday, at a ceremony attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

Hisense acquired the Slovenian brand Gorenje in 2018, and this week opened its third factory in Valjevo. The 40-million-euro plant will manufacture side-by-side refrigerators for the European market. Its expected annual output is 750,000 refrigerators.

Hisense's Europe CEO Hanson Han said: "People are the ones who will translate our great vision into reality. That is why I am proud to announce that here in Valjevo, as many as 1,000 new employees will soon become part of our Hisense family."

This brings the total number of Hisense employees in Valjevo to 2,750; over 10,000 in Europe, and over 100,000 worldwide, Han added.

Calling this day "extremely important" for both Valjevo and Serbia, the prime minister said: "We struggled for a long time to ensure a good economic climate in Valjevo to enable people to stay here."

The Serbian government said in a press release that the new 35,000-square-meter factory makes Valjevo a global production center for refrigerators. The overall output of the three factories in Valjevo will reach 1.7 million devices by 2025.