Master Good, one of Hungary’s largest vertically integrated poultry producers, warned that the company’s planned HUF350bn (€1bn) expansion in Hungary would be unfeasible under the government’s tightened foreign labour rules, HRportal.hu writes on June 10.

Speaking at a labour market conference, CEO Laszlo Barany argued that Hungary’s shrinking working-age population and structural labour shortages make it impossible to staff large-scale industrial projects solely with domestic workers.

The comments underscore that the new government’s tighter foreign labour rules are increasingly at odds with industry interests, with employers warning that projects could be delayed or cancelled without guest workers. Business groups and recruitment companies voiced concerns over plans to ban the import of guest workers from June 1.

WHC Group and business association VOSZ urged consultations on the regulation they claim would endanger the Hungarian economy and jobs and could paralyse production.

Last week, the government announced that it would tighten the rules on the employment of third-country nationals while reviewing the current complex structure, but stopped short of introducing a full ban.

The government will amend the government decree that allows staffing agencies to bring in workers through an expedited procedure from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia, while allowing existing foreign workers to extend their permits.  

Currently, there are 24 categories under which foreigners can work in Hungary, government spokeswoman Vanda Szondi said at a regular press briefing on June 5, adding that there were no concrete figures on how many people are currently working in the country.

Master Good employs around 4,000 people, including roughly 580 foreign workers at its base in Kisvarda, near the Ukrainian border, one of Hungary’s most underdeveloped regions. Some 75% of revenue last year, HUF213bn (€600mn, +18%) came from exports, while net profit grew 4.1% to HUF25.5bn in 2025.

Barany said the company’s earlier experience with recruitment reflected a structural shift in the labour market: whereas in the late 2000s local plants still attracted large numbers of job seekers, by the mid-2010s those labour pools had largely disappeared, triggering intense competition between employers for a shrinking workforce.

Master Good’s operations are highly automated, but Barany stressed that, even in modern food processing, a large number of manual and semi-skilled workers remain indispensable.

"We are not bringing in foreign workers because they are cheaper, but because there is no domestic labour available," the executive stressed.

He said that roughly 15% of the 3,000 workers required for new investments would be in manual positions, for which there is currently insufficient Hungarian labour. Even at the current level of automation, companies in the food industry still rely on low-skilled staff.

Without foreign workers, the company could not proceed with its investment project, or it could even scale back existing domestic operations, he noted, adding that policymakers should consider whether these policies "are compatible with Hungary’s industrial strategy."

Regulation of foreign labour should be flexible and adapt to economic conditions and performance, he added.

While automation could reduce labour pressure, humanoid robotics remains a longer-term solution rather than an immediate fix. The company is also exploring these options, but these could be viable options only in 10-15 years.

He argued that in Hungary, low-skilled jobs will increasingly be filled by foreign workers, as in Western Europe.

He also said that population decline is one of Hungary's biggest challenges and called for an open public debate on the issue.

Other speakers highlighted the rapid decline in Hungary’s population. The demographic decline is also putting pressure on the labour market, with the active workforce shrinking by 50,000 annually. Based on the current trends, Hungary’s population could fall to 9.4mn by 2030, below 9mn by 2040, and to between 8.3mn and 8.7mn by 2050.