Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Monday he was "confident" that French food giant Danone would ditch plans to close a factory in the western city of Gyoer in the next few days.
Danone's plans for the biscuit plant, which employs 670 staff, have sparked protests in Hungary, and Orban said his rightwing government would do everything possible to prevent its closure.
"The factory will be saved. ... the employees have no reason to fear for their jobs," he told state radio.
"We are asking for two or three days of patience. I expect that within a couple of days, a favorable decision will be taken," he said, adding that he "will do all that is necessary" to save the more than 100-year-old plant.
"Although the government has no legal right to intervene in business decisions, we have mobilised contacts behind the scenes," he said.
The plant in Gyoer, western Hungary, is just one of the six European sites targeted in Danone's plans for shutdown over three years, cutting 1,780 jobs on the continent.
Danone has said it would create 270 jobs in central Hungary if it closes the Gyoer unit – BUDAPEST (AFP)
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