Mar 26, Colombo: A shipyard in Romania owned by South Korean conglomerate Daewoo plans to employ Sri Lankans before the end of the year to its company, reports said.

Daewoo plans to employ about 300 workers from Asia before the end of the year to overcome a labour shortage.

The process of bringing 20 Sri Lankans to Romania has already begun and another 50 from the South Asian island country are to follow before the end of the year, the head of human resources for the company, Gemal Memetcea said.

“There are two reasons for taking on foreign citizens. Firstly because of a lack of labour locally and after a number of qualified workers emigrated in the last few years, and secondly because of the cost of taking on Asians, which are 20 to 30 percent lower than Romanians,” Memetcea said.

The shipyard employs 3,600 people with the gross monthly salary on average about 700 euros (1,000 dollars).