The third shift for the production of the electric “Grande Panda” model at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia (FCA) plant in Kragujevac was officially established this October, as previously announced — but it is not yet fully operational. This means that a number of workers have been hired for the third shift, though the workforce is still insufficient to achieve full production capacity.
According to Ivan Ristić, president of the Independent Union of FCA Serbia, it will take time before the third shift reaches full functionality.
“First, workers need to complete all training programs — that’s simply how the production process works. They can’t immediately rotate between shifts or move from an incomplete third shift into the first one. That would be harmful to production. It takes time, but we expect the third shift to be fully operational by the end of the year,” Ristić explained.
The Kragujevac plant currently employs around 3,000 people, both permanently and on fixed-term contracts. A new development is the engagement of workers through employment agencies, in line with Serbia’s Labor Leasing Law.
“Through these international agencies, as far as I know, Nepali workers have been hired. Under the law, Fiat can employ up to 10% of such agency workers — that’s around 300 people. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because once production peaks, we’ll need more workers. However, if production declines or the market becomes saturated, which is natural, those agency workers would be the first to be let go. That means there won’t be any job losses among our permanent employees or union members,” said Ristić.
In addition to agency hires, around 90 workers from Stellantis’ Moroccan plant and about 70 from Italy are currently working in Kragujevac.
“Some workers have also arrived from Spain, and we’re expecting others from Poland — our company is multinational, after all,” he added.
Impact of the European auto industry recession
The ongoing recession in the European automotive industry is expected to negatively affect Serbia’s supplier network as well. Asked whether Fiat in Kragujevac is feeling the effects of this downturn, Ristić said:
“There’s a connection, of course, but everything is fine here at the moment. If Stellantis plants across Europe halt production, some workers may be reassigned here. There are signs that production of the older Panda model might stop. Some plants in Italy and Spain might shut down, but our factory won’t face problems — we have full production and strong sales.”
He added that both electric and especially hybrid Fiat models remain in high demand.
“We’re also producing about 10% of electric Citroën vehicles. So we’re not affected by the European auto recession. The only possible impact could be an influx of workers from other European plants — which is actually fine since we need more staff,” Ristić explained.
Wages and upcoming negotiations
When it comes to salaries, unions cannot yet enter negotiations on wage increases, particularly for new employees, due to existing collective agreements. However, Ristić noted that discussions with management are expected soon.
“According to the collective agreement, talks with company management about salary increases for 2026 are scheduled to begin at the end of October or early November. We already had a wage adjustment earlier this year, partly tied to the increase in the national minimum wage, although our workers earn above that. Their gross salaries have risen by about 7,300 dinars, applied linearly across all pay grades,” Ristić said, adding that negotiations will also include discussions on year-end bonuses.
