Defense firm in need of state help

İZMİR - Anatolia News Agency

BMC, a Turkish auto firm that also makes armored military vehicles, should not be allowed to go bankrupt, a business representative from the Aegean province of İzmir said Sept. 26, suggesting state aid for the company. The company is struggling with financial problems, and its workers have complained multiple times that they are not getting paid.

Turkey’s Undersecretariat of Defense (SSM) could buy a stake in the company, which is producing vehicles crucial to its missions, Mehmet Tiryaki, head of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO), said yesterday. The firm has been facing a financial bottleneck for the past four months, Tiryaki said.

The company employs 3,000 people and creates an additional 32,000 jobs in support sectors, Tiryaki said, adding that many of BMC’S suppliers have reduced or halted their production since BMC stopped operations about four months ago. Kirpi, BMC’s armored vehicle, is used by the military mainly in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and is also exported abroad.