ArmInfo. Following the negotiations between the Government of Armenia and Armenian Copper Program CJSC (ACP), it was decided to postpone the transfer of notices of termination of employment contracts to employees of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter for two months - until February 28, 2019, Assistant Prime Minister of Armenia Aren Mkrtchyan informed on his Facebook page.
"Dear residents of Alaverdi, as you know, at the end of October 2018, Armenian Copper Programs CJSC (ACP) submitted a notice of termination of employment contracts to employees, according to which it was planned to terminate labor relations within five days after December 24 of this year.
Following the negotiations between the government of Armenia and Armenian Copper Program CJSC (ACP), it was decided to postpone the transfer of notifications about the cancellation of employment contracts of the company's employees for two months- until February 28, 2019, "he wrote. The Assistant to Prime Minister on anti-corruption issues expressed the hope that negotiations between the government and the ACP would continue in a constructive way" in the interests of the residents of Alaverdi, Lori and the Republic of Armenia. " At the same time, he assured that the government is protecting the interests of the Alaverdi residents.
On December 14, ArmInfo, citing the press service of the Vallex group, reported that rumors of mass dismissal of employees of Armenian Copper Programs CJSC of the Vallex group do not correspond to reality. According to the source, since the company suspended metallurgical production since October 19, 2018, within the requirements of the Labor Code, notifications of staff reductions were submitted to all employees of the company until the end of October. In November-December 2018, employees were not provided with new notifications. "Attaching importance to the stability of the Armenian economy, the social situation of the residents of Alaverdi and the nearest settlements, the vital need to support incumbent employees and also setting itself the task of eliminating new tensions during these difficult winter months, the President of the Vallex group ordered the postponement labor contracts for two months, after which employees receive new notifications to solve the problem on February 28, 2019. We hope that our cooperation with the RA Government will continue to be constructive and mutual understanding,", the statement reads.
To recall, from October 19, 2018, the activities of Alaverdi copper smelter producing blister copper were suspended. About 650 employees of the enterprise lost their jobs. The State Inspectorate for Environmental Protection fined the plant 380 million AMD ($ 700 thousand) because of a serious violation of environmental legislation adopted in 2005. The head of the plant, Lusine Mejlumyan, said that the practical impossibility of fulfilling the requirements prescribed by the environmental inspectorate brings to the agenda the question of shutting down the plant. The problem is complicated by the fact that the property complex of the enterprise is secured by a loan of $ 500 million, previously received from VTB Bank for the development of a large Teghout copper-molybdenum deposit, the operation of which was also stopped due to environmental problems even last year after the suspension of co-financing by one from overseas lenders. Under these conditions, servicing a VTB loan becomes extremely unaffordable for an enterprise and a serious decline in the level of profitability of the Alaverdi plant, in fact, may lead to its bankruptcy.
To note, Vallex Group was established in 1998 and unites 20 subsidiary and affiliated companies. Among them is Teghut CJSC, founded in May 2006, 100% of the shares of CJSC belong to Teghut Investments Limited of Cyprus, 100% of which voting shares in turn belong to Armenian Copper Program CJSC, which is fully owned by Valery Mejlumyan, and also CJSC Base Metals, which operates a copper-gold deposit in the village of Drmbon, Martakert region, NKR.