TIZI-OUZOU – During a working visit to Tizi-Ouzou, the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Ali Aoun, stated on Wednesday that opening the capital of the National Company for Household Appliances Industries (ENIEM) for a national or foreign partnership was necessary to rescue the company.
Speaking to the press after a meeting at the production unit of ENIEM in Oued Aïssi, with company officials and workers’ representatives, the minister affirmed that “the state will not abandon the company” and that there “will be no privatization,” suggesting that partnerships could be explored instead.
The minister explained that the decision to open ENIEM’s capital for a partnership rested with the company’s management, emphasizing the need for an “effective work program” to overcome the challenges faced by the unit.
Regarding “the debt burden carried by the company,” the minister dismissed the possibility of its forgiveness, stating that “to clear a company’s debt, it would need to generate profits.”
To safeguard the threatened jobs at the company, he stressed the importance of a “modernization and production revival plan.”
Mr. Aoun, who underscored that “modern management requires setting goals and the means to achieve them,” announced that from September onwards, performance contracts would be implemented for all executives of the company. This measure aims to establish goals and the means to achieve them.
In this context, he revealed that a meeting would be held at the Ministry of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production’s headquarters next Monday with ENIEM officials and social partners. The meeting will focus on developing a concrete program that will determine the company’s future.
During a presentation of ENIEM Tizi-Ouzou’s production capabilities, its officials highlighted that the company’s actual production fell short of its capacity.
Out of a total production capacity of 220,000 appliances, ENIEM produced only 35,000 in 2022.