ACE 1000 nowych miejsc pracy w fabryce PSA Slowacja ACE

TRNAVA, Slovakia (Reuters) -- PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA will add 1,000 jobs at its Slovak assembly plant and boost production, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday.

A company spokesman said: "PSA confirms its will to grow the Trnava site and therefore its work force." He declined to confirm numbers or a timetable.

The euro zone country has emerged from the global economic crisis as one of the European Union's fastest-growing members this year, with the automotive industry being the country's key growth driver as Kia Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG also have car assembly factories in the country.

PSA is among Slovakia's top exporters and major employers. The annual production capacity at the plant, which is 45km (28 miles) from the Slovak capital Bratislava, is 300,000 cars. But the factory, which produces the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso, has not been running at full speed.

"We are talking about (the creation of) 1,000 jobs in production," Prime Minister Iveta Radicova told reporters.

The company's chief of Slovak operations, Luciano Biondo, said the firm planned to boost production and hire workers over the medium term.

PSA started producing at the plant in 2005.

Douglas A. Bolduc contributed to this report

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101215/ANE/312159965/1198#ixzz18CUeNVf2