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Delphi, the wiring harness manufacturer, plans to shut down its Czech unit. The plant is located at Ceska Lipa, 90 km north of Prague, and serves auto makers such as BMW and Audi. The job cuts will take place in stages until the closure will be completed by the end of May 2011. As a result, all 1,400 employees will be affected. The trade union commented that the company plans to relocate to lower cost places. The Czech Republic has attracted foreign investment related to the automotive industry; however, due to rising costs, some companies decided to relocate.

Czech utility, CEZ Group (CEZ.BE), is investing 1.1 billion euros in a Romanian wind farm with a projected capacity of 600 megawatts (MW), which--when completed--will be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. CEZ bought the development rights for two projects from Continental Wind Partners LLC (CWP), which will manage the construction, set to begin next month. The project will combine adjacent Fantanele and Cogealac wind farms. Together, the two projects will be about twice the size of the next largest fully permitted onshore wind farm in Europe, and triple the size of the largest operational wind farm in Europe. The project, which is located about 17 kilometers from the Black Sea, will be completed in two stages. The first stage of 347.5 MW is expected to be completed by the end of 2009. It will comprise 139 GE wind turbines.

Hitachi Cable, Ltd. announced that its consolidated subsidiary Hitachi Cable Europe Ltd. has established a new automotive components manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic, producing wires, cables, and copper products. Commercial production will begin in February 2013. The company said this was due to the potential for new products and the need to increase the company's operations to support expanding markets along with the ability to compete effectively.