Since the beginning of the year, 976 companies have been deregistered in Timis County, most of them in the HoReCa sector, while 14 notifications have announced the planned layoff of a further 1,513 employees, mainly in IT; however, the development of a defence industry in Timisoara could help address job losses, Timis Prefect Cornelia Micicoi told AGERPRES on Thursday.
Compared to more than 3,100 companies dissolved last year, the number of closures recorded so far this year is worrying, according to the government's representative in Timis County.
"In 2025, 3,171 companies were deregistered, while since the beginning of this year to date we have 976. These companies operated in sectors such as construction, transport, trade and food services, essentially the restaurant and HoReCa sector. In 2026, 14 notifications of collective redundancies have been registered with the Timis Territorial Labour Inspectorate, which are expected to affect 1,513 employees. The most affected sectors are IT, custom software development, hotels and accommodation, gambling and betting activities, the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment, the production of motor vehicle parts and accessories, as well as footwear manufacturing," the prefect detailed.
The unemployment rate has remained relatively stable at 1.09%, which may be explained by the fact that those laid off have either not registered with the county employment agency, have found new jobs, moved abroad or found alternative sources of income.
The Timis prefect said she sees a solution to employment challenges in the development of a defence industry, through the creation of a dual-use hub in Timisoara, which could also generate broader economic recovery, not only locally but nationally.
"Developing a defence industry does not mean preparing for war. We must think about how to use these funds (from the SAFE programme) currently made available by the European Union, so as to develop the defence industry and ensure Romania benefits directly from them, while also leaving something lasting after this economically challenging period. The defence industry can produce equipment with multiple uses dual-use. For example, we can produce drones that can be used in agriculture, for detecting illegal waste, in cadastre, in non-military areas. We already have an automotive industry here that is prepared to expand into defence. It has people, know-how and a logistics chain; a radar used to detect distances between cars can be slightly adapted and used, for example, to measure the distance between tanks or amphibious vehicles. We are talking about new jobs this would address the issue of layoffs. We see only benefits if we manage to achieve this," she explained.
Cornelia Micicoi added that she held talks last week with Timisoara mayor Dominic Fritz, including in his political capacity, as well as with other Romanian officials, noting that decisions will ultimately be taken at both governmental and political levels.
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