German-Japanese engineering company Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze opens in September a plant in Khmelnytsiy to produce electric wiring packages for cars of the Volkswagen group.

German-Japanese engineering company Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze opens in September a plant in Khmelnytsiy to produce electric wiring packages for cars of the Volkswagen group. Recycling a Soviet-era plant, factory managers plan to hire 500 workers by the end of this year and 1,500 more within two years, the regional state administration reports on its website. When that employment target is reached the Wolfsburg, Germany-based multinational will have about 20% of its global workforce in Ukraine. The company currently employs 4,400 workers in Baikivtsi, Ternopil region, 110 km to the west of Khmelnytskiy. The new factory marks a trend among foreign auto parts manufacturers to open assembly plants in central Ukraine, where labor is cheaper and more abundant.