Lego to lay off about 70 in Hungary

Csaba Tóth, HR director at Nyíregyháza-based Lego Manufacturing Kft., said the layoffs would comply with labor regulations. He declined to reveal any further details as the process is at an early stage, MTI reported.

"As far as the Hungarian factory is concerned, we remain committed to producing Lego products here," Tóth was quoted as saying by news portal 444.hu. "Last year we began expansion of the factory in Nyíregyháza, and we will continue this expansion project, building the phases earlier approved, and will also continue to determine the number of our employees in future in order to be able to satisfy demand for Lego products."

Earlier Tuesday, Lego announced plans to cut about 1,400 jobs globally, after revealing a fall in first-half profit and revenues. Lego, which employs almost 2,000 people in Hungary, said most of the cuts to its 18,200 global staff would be made before the end of 2017. The company did not specify where it would make the layoffs.

The average headcount at Legoʼs Hungarian unit stood at around 1,950 last year, public records show. About two-thirds of the staff were blue-collar workers.

Figures quoted by 444.hu suggest the local unit of the Danish firm has put in a healthier performance than the parent company of late. Net revenues last year grew by some 11%, and profits by 13%.