One in four out of work as biggest firm departs

Published on 12/10/2012 00:00

Greece’s jobless rate topped 25 per cent yesterday as its biggest company said it would move out of the country.

The announcement by bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic that it was switching its listing from Athens to London, and moving its base to low-tax Switzerland, is a bitter blow to the debt-crippled nation.

The firm, which bottles Coke and other drinks in 28 countries, is Greece’s biggest by market value and is 23 per cent owned by the Coca-Cola Co of the United States. It said Greek plants would be unaffected.

The announcement coincided with data that showed Greek unemployment climbing for a 35th consecutive month in July to 25.1 per cent from a revised 24.8 per cent in June. The jobless rate has more than tripled since the recession began five years ago.

Fifty-four per cent of Greeks aged 15-24 years are out of work, fuelling violent protests against the austerity measures demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in exchange for more than €200 billion (£162bn) in loans since 2010. Greece is still far off target.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde, in Tokyo yesterday, backed calls to give Greece two more years, to 2016, to cut its debt.