Indebted ammunition manufacturer VMZ Sopot started to pay off delayed salaries to its workers on Friday after the government allocated 4.0 million levs ($2.75 million/2.05 million euro) to this purpose, prime minister Boyko Borisov said.
The prime minister requested the suspension from office of VMZ Sopot's executive director over trade unions' allegations that 6.0 million levs earmarked for workers' salaries was instead spent on raw materials purchased at inflated prices, the state-run Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Last week, parliament adopted legislative amendments that would make it easier to sell the heavily indebted plant after a privatisation attempt failed earlier this month. Under the amendments, VMZ Sopot was taken off the list of state-owned companies that could only be sold under a privatisation strategy approved by the chamber.