Exhaust maker Akrapovič has signed a multi-year contract with the Italian car maker Ferrari to supply the Ferrari Hypercar programme, after striking a similar partnership with Lamborghini in February. This has opened the doors for the company to endurance car races, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The situation of workers in Slovenia has improved over the years thanks solely to trade unions, long-serving union leader Branimir Štrukelj told the STA ahead of May Day. But union membership is dropping, which means workers must come to understand that better prosperity can only be achieved through collective action, he believes.

Austria is the favourite career destination of Slovenians and the main reason why they would like to work there is better pay, a survey by employment portal Mojedelo.com and the Boston Consulting Group has shown. Slovenia, in turn, is the most desired job destination for workers from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.

Oil producer Gea posted EUR 34.5 million in revenue in 2023, down 46%. Last year was marked by drastic declines of prices of unrefined oil and significantly lower demand for oil, the Slovenska Bistrica-based company has said.

The National Assembly passed with 63 votes in favour and none against changes to the public sector pay system, allowing for an indexation of salaries to inflation. Under an agreement with trade unions, public sector pay will increase by 3.36% in June.

The Nationally Assembly confirmed on Friday changes to the Excise Duty Act that raise excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products and introduce stricter controls over unprocessed tobacco and lubricating oils. The changes, expected to enter into force in June, are to increase revenue from excise duties this year by some EUR 11 million.

The SBI TOP index of blue chips on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange closed 0.26% higher on Friday. The busiest issue was again that of pharmaceutical company Krka, which went up 0.4% on EUR 2.9 million in volumes. Total turnover reached EUR 4.6 million.