Amazon is building a new logistics center in Kojetin industrial park near Prerov in the Olomouc Region, which should create over 2,000 jobs when it opens in 2023. The construction of the logistics center will be completed next year, its full commissioning is planned for 2023. Amazon has already started recruiting the first employees, so far mainly specialists. The recruitment of employees who will process customer orders in Kojetín is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. Amazon’s general manager for the Czech Republic, Michal Šmíd, told CTK today. According to Šmíd, Amazon will expand its product range with the help of a new distribution center in Kojetín and will support a growing number of independent small businesses that sell their goods through its e-shop. The center’s staff will prepare, package and send small items to customers, such as books, electronics and consumer goods. The operation in Kojetín will be equipped with modern technology, including robotic units. “These specialized robots slide under the product shelves, lift them and move them around the distribution center, thus helping to reduce the time required to process orders. In Kojetín, we will offer work with higher added value for qualified employees,” said Šmíd. Amazon has...
The Czech Republic is an EU leader when it comes to the density of the railway network. With 9,277 kilometres of rail in the country, it would be difficult to find a more connected state within the EU. Quality-wise, though, there are severe shortcomings. “If we look at the quality and capacity of these lines, most of them are single-track and non-electrified. Moreover, unlike in western European countries, the most important lines are, with exceptions, at most two-track and run in parallel, long-distance and regional passenger and freight services,” said Emanuel Šíp, chairman of the Transport Section of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. “So we have to do more to reach the level of the EU’s Western countries,” he adds. The year 2021 is the European Year of Rail. The initiative aims at promoting railways as a sustainable and climate-friendly way of transport. It accounts for only 0.4% of greenhouse gas emissions from EU transport, while the total share of transport in the EU’s emissions stands at 25%. Moreover, railway is the only means of transport that reduced its emissions and energy consumption between 1990-2017. “Czech rail is still poor compared to developed countries,” said Petr Šlegr from the Centre...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. CZECH REPUBLIC The Czech National Bank should refrain from interest rate hikes that can damage companies and people through higher borrowing costs, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Thursday, adding inflation should move lower. Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen group, will halt production at two domestic plants for a week at the end of September due to chip shortages, the company said on Thursday. Czech President Milos Zeman who was hospitalized this week has undergone medical checks that haven’t revealed any problems or disease that would threaten his life, the presidential office said on Thursday. He will probably return to work next week. WORLD The World Economic Forum (WEF) is to take place in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos next year on Jan. 17-21, reverting to an in-person meeting of world and business leaders, organisers said on Thursday. The Italian government approved on Thursday some of the strictest anti-COVID measures in the world, making it obligatory for all workers either to show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from...
Penny Market and Billa have both announced plans to launch online grocery stores. Penny, the German supermarket chain, plans on launching their e-shop in the coming weeks, while Billa, an Austrian chain, has plans for a launch in 2022. In the coming weeks, most likely in mid-October, the Penny Market supermarket chain will launch its own online shop, so far, only in pilot operation in Pilsen. Depending on the interest of customers, the grocery giant will decide how fast and where exactly to extend the new service. The Billa retail chain is celebrating 30 years on the Czech market this year and it wants to continue expanding and digitizing its stores. The company plans to start selling groceries and household products online next year. It will offer customers a selection of up to 15,000 products and the option of delivery directly to their home or picking the order up at one of the 240 stores around the country. “By entering the online market, we are simply just responding to the demand created by Czech customers. We will not introduce the service until 2022 so that we can prepare the online shop to run as smoothly and precisely as possible,” says...
The Czech Republic’s vaccination campaign appears to be stalling as the country’s infection numbers are rising again. Although the Czech Republic’s vaccination rate is higher than in some other Central and Eastern European countries, it is below the EU average. As of September 13, some 56.1% of the population has had at least one dose, compared with 52.9% on August 1. And 54.6% of the population is now fully vaccinated, up from 45.4% on August 1 and compared with the EU average of 60.3%. This means, however, that only 1.6% of the population is awaiting their second-jab, with more than two-fifths of the country not having yet received their first injection. According to data collated on the opendatalab.cz website, an open-source project by the Czech Technical University, only 26,007 people have registered on the government’s booking portal and await vaccination, although the authorities have opened walk-in centres where registration is not necessary, in some parts of the country. The vaccination rate peaked in mid-June when about 0.9 doses per 100 people were administered daily. On September 8, it was down to just 0.13 doses per 100 people. Vaccine hesitancy Lubomir Kopecek, a professor of political science at Masaryk University, said...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. CZECH REPUBLIC Two firefighters were killed in a gas explosion that leveled a family house in the southeast Czech Republic, officials said on Wednesday. The head of the regional government, Radim Holis, also said two other firefighters were injured. The regional rescue service said a total of four people were injured in the explosion that occurred in the town of Korycany shortly after noon. The Czech parliament approved a law on Wednesday setting the framework for aid to renewable energy projects, which industry players hope will restart a boom in green projects. Nearly 8,000 people in the Czech Republic may apply for the third COVID vaccine dose as of Monday, September 20, while eight are eligible for it now as they received their second dose eight months ago. On Monday, those concerned will receive a text message informing them of the possibility to get revaccinated. WORLD North Korea and South Korea test fired ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the latest volley in an arms race in which both nations have developed increasingly sophisticated weapons while efforts prove fruitless to...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. CZECH REPUBLIC The Czech Republic has placed 22nd on the Economic Freedom of the World Index published by Canada’s Fraser Institute, down by three spots compared to last year. At the same time, Czechia improved its overall score from last year’s 7.65 to 7.81 points. A Taiwanese delegation of government officials and business people will visit Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, officials said Tuesday, defying Beijing’s opposition to any diplomatic ties with Taipei. The 65-member group will visit the three countries between October 20 and 30 to promote trade ties and investment Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has bought a stake of around 5.1% in French TV company TF1, a regulatory filing published on Tuesday showed, adding to Kretinsky’s portfolio of stakes in top companies around the world. Shares in TF1, which is aiming to merge with French TV rival M6, were up 1.4% by 0940 GMT while M6 shares were up 0.7%. WORLD Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he was self-isolating after several members of his entourage fell ill with...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. CZECH REPUBLIC The Czech Republic will buy 52 new Caesar artillery pieces from French group Nexter Systems for 8.5 billion crowns to replace older howitzers dating back to the 1970s, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar said on Twitter a contract would be signed by the end of September. The Czech Republic will continue the practice of advancing clocks during the warmer months so that darkness falls at a later time for at least the next five years. Daylight saving time was to have been discontinued in the European Union in 2019 but member states failed to agree on a single time. The son of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Andrej Babiš Jr., was questioned by police in Prague for over six hours on Monday in connection with a case surrounding a conference centre built by his father. The PM is facing charges of subsidy fraud in connection with the Stork’s Nest complex and his son was previously also charged over the matter. WORLD The Lithuanian government said on...
Valuo.cz, an online real estate tool for professionals, released aggregate data spanning the August and July sales of apartments in 13 cities for the past three years. The sales revealed an alarming trend: housing prices are increasing nationwide, demonstrating that costly real estate is not a problem in Prague alone. More specifically, the data demonstrated that Prague’s housing value increased by 38% since 2018 — the smallest price difference on the list of 13 cities. That difference is followed by Karlovy Vary, where housing increased by 48% over the course of the last three years. Ústí nad Labem, however, experienced growth of over 100%, followed closely by Ostrava, which experienced a 98% increase in housing over the past three years. Valuo.cz founder, Radek Šitera, noted in 2020 alone, the price of apartments in Ústí nad Labem rose by 44 percent. However, apartments here were still sold at the cheapest value comparatively, with sales averaging at 31,316 crowns per square meter. Despite the smaller percentage increase in pricing, Prague’s housing remains more expensive. “In the capital today, you will pay an average of CZK 106,750 per square meter. An apartment with an area of 75 square meters in Prague will cost...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. CZECH REPUBLIC Polls: Ruling party ANO maintained its poll lead before next month’s election in two separate surveys. ANO held 32.4% in a STEM poll done for CNN Prima News, ahead of the two opposition coalitions of Spolu, with 20%, and the Pirates-Mayors’ parties, with 18%. In a Data Collect poll for Czech TV, ANO held 25% and Spolu trailed with 22% and the Pirates-Mayors had 21%. Online Retail: Billa, part of the REWE International grocery group, wants to launch online grocery sales next year and aims to become the leader on the market. Inflation: Czech headline inflation accelerated to over 4% last month and reached its highest rate since 2008, data showed on Friday, adding to debate in the central bank over whether a bigger interest rate hike was needed amid policy tightening. WORLD FBI releases first declassified 9/11 document after Biden order: The FBI on Saturday released a newly declassified document related to its investigation of Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and allegations of Saudi government support for the hijackers, following...
Citizens of the Visegrád Group, which is an alliance between the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, have different views on their countries’ membership in the European Union, with the least favorable opinion being expressed by the Czechs. The public in all four countries also differs in attitudes towards the United States and Russia, notes the public opinion poll conducted by Bratislava’s Institute for Public Affairs (IVO). Only 41 percent of Czechs described their country’s membership in the EU as a good thing, in Slovakia 57 percent expressed the same opinion, in Hungary 59 percent, and in Poland up to 68 percent of the population. “The Czech public also stands out from the overall Visegrád picture with a high proportion of explicitly negative opinions on EU membership – almost 30 percent of respondents consider it a bad thing,” said the authors of the study. The V4 countries also differ in their attitudes towards the US and Russia. The US enjoys the highest confidence among the population in Poland, while Slovakia ended up on the opposite side of the scale. On the contrary, Russia is perceived best by Slovaks and worst by Poles. The survey confirmed the high mutual trust of...
Czech healthcare workers have thrown away more than 14,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the past month as interest in the vaccine has continued to dwindle. AstraZeneca was distributed to general practitioners but patients are not interested in getting a vaccination with the UK-Swedish jab and prefer to get jabs from Pfizer or Moderna instead. “There was simply no interest in the AstraZeneca vaccine. We were told to keep these vaccines and see what to do next according to the situation,” the regional vaccination coordinator Robin Šín told the Czech radio station Radiožurnál. In June, the country’s health ministry recommended that the AstraZeneca jab should be administered only to people above 65 – a decision, which according to doctors, discouraged people from getting the AstraZeneca jab. The alternatives from Pfizer and Moderna – which are currently highly accessible – are in any case more popular among the public. To ensure vaccines do not expire, a special database called “Save the vaccine” has been launched. It allows general practitioners to make known which vaccines are available and which are about to expire. The Czech government has already confirmed that it will donate all doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine delivered during...
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