However, the net balance was positive in 2012 against 2011, with 1,000 employees added last year.
The biggest employer during this period was Kaufland, which hired over 4,000 people during the crisis years.
On the other hand, the most significant personnel cuts were done in state-run companies (CFR and Posta Romana) and in companies conducting restructuring programs (Petrom, ArcelorMittal and Romtelecom).
Most employers in the ranking operate in the automotive parts sector, which continues to hire.
One of the most active employers in the automotive components sector has been German group Continental, which hired 1,000 people last year alone. The group currently has 12,000 employees in Romania.
“Continental Automotive Romania SRL has hired and continues to hire engineers (…) and qualified personnel for the production facilities,” said Anica Stoica, human resources manager of Continental Automotive Romania.
Production of auto parts and food retail are the only sectors of the economy which boast more than ten companies from among the top 100 largest employers in the economy, shows data centralized by ZF. And expansion plans in these sectors continue, say human resources specialists.
“We are still recruiting production managers and plant managers for production sites in the auto sector, whether for expansions or for greenfield investments. But in the medium term the investment flow in this industry could stop as long as car sales don’t return to growth,” said Sorin Roibu, managing partner of executive search and HR consultancy firm Arthur Hunt.
He added that agriculture was also a sector which has done a lot of hiring in the past few years, but that in this field it takes longer for personnel to gain the necessary skills.
According to Roibu, some retailers have changed their plans along the way and went from targeting many cities for expansion to focusing on Bucharest, which is more profitable.
Employees who have a particularly hard time finding new jobs are those laid off from banks, he explained.
“There are people who have worked in the banking system all their lives, who don’t know how to do anything else, and who find it very hard to get new jobs,” Roibu said.
BCR, Raiffeisen, BRD Groupe Societe Generale, CEC Bank and UniCredit Tiriac Bank let go of over 3,700 employees between 2008 and 2012, according to balance sheets submitted with the Finance Ministry.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)