KUALA LUMPUR: Some 9,600 Proton employees are assured of keeping their jobs following Proton's strategic tie-up with China's automobile giant Geely.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said that Proton is currently undergoing a transformation programme.
“The company's 9,600 will not lose their jobs following the strategic tie-up.
“In fact, there are plans to increase the number of employees to 20,000 in the coming decade,” he said when answering a question by Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PAS-Dungun) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Ahmad added that some 230 Proton vendors, which employ 50,000 workers, will also be maintained and upgraded.
He said that 300 distributors under Proton would also benefit from the tie-up with Geely.
“This is based on the projection of annual sales of 500,000 Proton units by the next 10 years,” he added.
Ahmad said that Proton would focus on producing fuel-efficient vehicles with the goal of penetrating the global market.
DRB-Hicom signed an agreement with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd in June.
The agreement involved the sale of 49.9% of equity to Geely, which saw Dr Li Chunrong appointed as Proton's chief executive director on Oct 1.
