Gredelj rail factory to shut down production after 130 years?

Gredelj (Photo: Branko Radovanović/CC BY-SA 4.0)

After 130 years of continuous operation, Croatia’s iconic railway vehicle manufacturer Gredelj is facing the permanent shutdown of its production activities.

The decision was made by Tatravagonka, the Slovak company that currently owns the Zagreb-based factory, and foresees a complete halt to all economic activities by June 2026.

The announcement was formally communicated to employees through a notice displayed on the factory’s notice board, Dnevnik.hr reported.

The move has sent shockwaves through the workforce and trade unions, with plans indicating that all remaining employees will be made redundant by the middle of next year, accompanied by severance payments.

It remains unclear whether a small number of workers may temporarily stay on to maintain the facility in a so-called “cold shutdown” mode.

Tomislav Rajković, President of the Association of Croatian Workers’ Trade Unions, confirmed that the company’s intention is clear.

“The decision explicitly states that all workers will be dismissed. Whether some may remain temporarily to maintain the site is not yet known, but the plan is to shut down production by June 2026,” Rajković told Dnevnik.hr.

Around 300 workers are currently employed at Gredelj, a significant decline from previous decades when the workforce was more than double that number. Their livelihoods are now uncertain, adding to wider concerns about the future of Croatia’s industrial base.

Management has so far declined to comment publicly or appear before cameras, leaving many key questions unanswered.

Among the most pressing is the fate of existing contracts, some of which were reportedly secured until as late as 2032. It is also unclear who will take responsibility for the maintenance of rail vehicles operated by HŽ Passenger Transport once production ceases.

A brief written statement from the company managing Gredelj following its bankruptcy acknowledged that there are currently no new contracts in place that would allow production to continue at full capacity.

“At this moment, no new jobs have been contracted that would allow the continuation of production at full capacity immediately after the completion of the existing ones, which does not exclude the possibility of contracting new projects in the future,” was the response to Dnevnik Nova TV’s inquiry.

Trade unions warn that the owner has several strategic options at its disposal, including selling the highly valuable land on which the factory sits or relocating machinery and production to other countries where the company already operates.

“We will fight for Gredelj to continue operating. If the current owner cannot do it, then someone else must,” Rajković said.