Methode Electronics, which is on a four-day week, will be returning to business as usual by April and investing €6.5 million in its Malta operation following an agreement with the government.

The group, which last November reduced its working week due to the global economic downturn, is planning a further €6.5 million investment in new lines next year, if the economic situation improves.

The move would generate another 100 jobs, consolidate its Malta operations and increase production potential, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech announced yesterday.

Given the circumstances, Methode, which employs 750 workers, was in the process of making about 100 redundancies. But the jobs have been saved thanks to the government's "timely intervention" and the company was even committed to increasing the workforce.

Methode's automotive employees, now on a four-day week, would be working the normal 40 hours from April 1 and the non-automotive sector, whose operations were cut to three-and-a-half days a week, would be working on a four-and-a-half day week, Mr Fenech said.

The government had set up a task force to draw opportunities from the prevailing scenario to safeguard jobs and support companies investing in Malta, he said.

The message from the agreement, reached through Malta Enterprise, was that opportunities could still be derived notwithstanding the circumstances, Mr Fenech said, reiterating his "sometimes misunderstood" strategy of supporting companies willing to invest and that saw a future in Malta.

The agreement would see the government's contribution to the training of workers for the new lines and the provision of factory space.

Methode Electronics Group European vice-president Joseph Elias Kuory thanked the government and its team of professionals for understanding the dynamics of the market and offering support.

The tough but fruitful discussions resulted not only in Methode's continuation but also in its expansion mainly in the non-automotive sector in line with its strategy of diversification.

Mr Kuory said it showed "a crisis could also mean opportunities... Sitting back and waiting for the global economy to help is not the right way to move ahead," he said.

"The agreement will offer lots of opportunities for the next three, four, five years," he said.

The General Workers' Union expressed satisfaction at this development. It said it had long been insisting that downtime should have been used for training so that the company was well prepared to face challenges.