German supermarket chain Lidl, one of the biggest retailers in Romania, plans to hire some 500 people this year as part of its expansion plan. The company will also increase the workers’ salaries again this year, according to Ziarul Financiar.

The news hasn’t passed unnoticed by politicians. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea, who has criticized multinationals for their alleged involvement in supporting the recent anti-government protests in Romania, says Lidl is an example to be followed by all international companies operating in the country.

“Congratulations! An example for all multinationals that operate in #Romania!” Dragnea wrote on his Facebook page. “Lidl answers to the facilities provided by the Romanian state not only by increasing its profits, but also by increasing salaries and creating over 500 new #jobs. That’s the way to do it!”

Dragnea recently said that some multinationals have supported the protests against a now repealed Government ordinance that changed the Criminal Code by sending their employees to the demonstrations.

PSD Senator Adrian Tutuianu, the head of the Parliament’s committee that monitors the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), also spoke about the multinationals’ alleged involvement in supporting and financing the protests against the Sorin Grindeanu cabinet. He even asked the SRI to investigate if any multinationals were involved in the protests. He claimed that some multinationals were unhappy with the changes to be made to the Tax Code, which involved new ways of taxing the corporate profits.

Senator Niculae Badalau, the executive president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) also said recently that a team of specialists was working on a new bill that provided that all the companies that have activities in Romania have their profits taxed in the country. The bill’s goal would be to curb “profit export” by local subsidiaries to parent-companies abroad.

“It’s inadmissible that a big company that has posted losses in Romania for eight years gets state aid and says that it’s on a loss when it actually exports all profits abroad,” Badalau was quoted as saying, according to Digi24.ro. He didn’t nominate the company in question.

Badalau also mentioned that “the biggest retailer in Romania” only made a 1% profit margin, which he considers “extremely strange”, according to Hotnews.ro. Again, he didn't mention the company's name.

The biggest retailer in Romania is German discount hypermarket chain Kaufland, which is part of the same group as Lidl (Schwaz-Gruppe). Kaufland had a turnover of EUR 2.06 billion and a net profit of EUR 146 million, in 2015, which results in a net profit margin of 7%. Kaufland, which reached over 15,000 employees in Romania last year, increased the minimum gross salary of its employees to RON 2000 (EUR 445), in November 2016. The minimum gross salary in Romania increased to RON 1,450 (EUR 322) starting February 1, 2017.

Lidl also increased the minimum gross salary of its employees starting October 1, 2016, to RON 2,200 (EUR 489) per month, including meal vouchers. Lidl has 200 stores and over 5,000 employees in Romania. In 2015, Lidl had a turnover of over EUR 1.06 billion and a net profit of EUR 38.6 million, according to data from the Finance Ministry.

IMF: Minimum wage increases faster than productivity in Romania

editor@romania-insider.com