Last year exposed the truth about the economic model that the government in Serbia has been presenting as a success for years. During the year 2025, a large number of factories were shut down in Serbia, and a huge number of people lost their jobs
While the cameras recorded the ceremonial opening of plants and the cutting of red ribbons, those same investors silently left the country as soon as subsidies they dry up or profits decline.
For years, the state has subsidized foreign companies with citizens' money, offering them cheap labor, weakened labor laws and minimal obligations to the local community. The result of that model today are closed factory, devastated industrial cities and workers who were left out of work.
The year 2025 was certainly marked by the abandonment and closure of a huge number of factories.
Already in March, three companies operating in Serbia - Benetton, Johnson Electric and Drexlmeier - announced layoffs. The crisis in the automotive and other industries did not bypass Serbia either. Although they have been operating positively on the foreign market for years, some of the factories will have to be shut down.
Drexlmayer failed to secure orders for the plant in Zrenjanin, so after considering all options, they will be forced to close it in 2026.
The company Benetton, which operates in Niš and is involved in the production of clothing, announced at the beginning of the year the closure of that production plant due to the business problems of the Benetton Group, as well as the termination of the employment contracts of employees based on technological redundancy.
The third company that has announced layoffs since the beginning of 2025, about 350 of them, is Johnson Electric. The company was founded in 2013 and produces electrical and electronic equipment for motor vehicles.
The summer was not overly stormy when it comes to foreign investments and factories, yet everything seems to be getting ready for the end of the year, when a wave of layoffs and closings swept over Serbia.
During the summer, only Leoni from Malošište announced that there will be a complete closure of the plant in Malošište. At the beginning of September, the first 400 workers were fired, and even then it was known that the plant would be shut down by the end of the year and that 1.900 workers would be out of a job.
Already in September, news came from Subotica that "Flender" was laying off more than 300 workers. This is the largest number of resignations that have been given by a company in the Industrial Zone in Subotica, wrote Subotica info.
In the same month, "Gruner Serbia" announced that due to the unfavorable situation in the automotive industry market, which resulted in a reduction in the volume of work, the company was "forced to reduce the number of workers at the plant in Vlasotinac".
Once popular for the opening of foreign factories, Serbia, claims President Aleksandar Vučić, is now less attractive. Vučić also claims that blockades and the fact that there is no more cheap labor are to blame.
Government representatives have repeatedly said that university blockades are to blame for investors leaving.
Vučić thus once again used the opportunity to indirectly repeat that the blockades of the faculties during the previous academic year and the protests had an effect on Serbia becoming less interesting to foreign investors, which is about "Time" has already written.
President Vučić's statement came a few days after the US State Department announced that the investment climate in Serbia has slightly improved in recent years, but that the problems of bureaucracy, corruption, inefficient state enterprises, a large informal sector and an inefficient judiciary remain.
The end of the year was disastrous for a large number of people and factories, but not because of low temperatures but because of shutdowns and layoffs.
The Danish factory "Kentaur" in Vranje closed the plant, leaving around 270 employees without work. The workers of this plant did not know anything about it, until the security stopped them in front of the gate on the morning of October 27. Then they received a notification that a decision was made to close the company, and that their personal belongings remained inside.
In Zrenjanin, the company "Novares" closed the plant on November 28. About 120 effective workers were left without employment, although the company, as it is claimed, was operating profitably.
In December, the aforementioned 1.900 workers of the Leoni company in Malošishte lost their jobs. At other locations in Serbia - in Prokuplje, Niš and Kraljevo, the company is also facing an increase in costs, but despite the challenges, these factories are currently continuing with operations and the implementation of existing projects. However, the real question is whether these plants will survive the year 2026.
In addition to the mentioned company Leoni, whose plants in various cities of Serbia can easily end up like the one in Malošishte, numerous layoffs have already been announced in the new year.
Drexlmeier, as already mentioned, announced the closure during 2026.
Towards the end of 2025, the Chinese factory "Mei Ta Europa" from Obrenovac laid off hundreds of Serbian workers and hired foreign workers for lower wages.
In just three days, this factory fired 370 local workers in order to replace them with foreign citizens who would work for a lower salary, said the president of the Belgrade Committee of the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), Stefan Simić. There is every chance that a similar practice will continue to be used in this factory.
On the other hand, the company "Aptiv" will close the factory in Zaječar in the first quarter of this year, it was confirmed for "Vreme" in that company. Exactly how many workers will lose their jobs, what are the specific reasons for shutting down this plant and what will happen to other plants of this company in Serbia, they did not state in the answer.
The British company "Aptiv" currently has three plants in Serbia - in Zaječar, Leskovac and Novi Sad, so their fate is also uncertain.
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