Penza, 9 February 2015. PenzaNews. According to Vasily Bochkarev, governor of the Penza region, the Penza diesel plant intends to lay off 300 people.

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“The plant should be visited by Torgashin [minister of industry, business development, innovation policy and information in the region], Kostin [minister of investment development and business of the region], [...] minister of economy [Olesya Safonova]. Together with the plant director and his team, they will develop a project to create an SME import substitution project that may employ these people,” Vasily Bochkarev said during the meeting session in the Penza regional government on Monday, February 9.

He added that currently available space and equipment allows the institution to create from three to five small businesses, and in doing so the regional authorities and the plant management will show their actual worth.

According to Vasily Bochkarev, it does not really matter what the laid off employees will produce, as long as the goods they are making are “in demand, but which we usually import.”

“If we succeed at it at the diesel plant, then we will be able to do it at other enterprises as well,” the Penza region governor said.