European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
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Professional drivers holding a driving licence of category C/C1 and D need to undertake training every five years after they have gained their basic qualification. The training covers a minimum of 35 hours (5 days of 7 hours), including courses on technology, modern driving and petrol-saving, social regulations and health and cargo securing. In category D, 42 hours (6 days of 7 hours) are compulsory. The training requires full attendance. After the training is completed the code '95' is entered in the driver's licence.
The law addresses drivers and does not include any obligation of employers to provide the necessary training. However, some collective agreements stipulate that employers cover costs for the relevant courses and/or allow participation during working time.
The amendment to the Ordinance on the Basic Qualification and Continuing Education of Professional Drivers was published with BGBl No. II 531/2021 on December 9, 2021. This transposes the Directive (EU) 2018/645 into national law and modernizes the Austrian system of Professional Driver Qualification modernized. Changes are e.g. the registration period for the exam will be shortened to 3 weeks (instead of six weeks previously). Notification of the examination will now take place 2 weeks beforehand (instead of three weeks before).
Eurofound (2015), Austria: Employees obligation to undertake training, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/employees-obligation-to-undertake-training/austria
This Eurofound research paper explores key trends in restructuring in recent years, highlighting the companies that announced the largest job losses and job gains in the EU. It builds on an analysis of company announcements recorded in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), alongside a new classification of restructuring events involving changes in company location.
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Employers increasingly use tools such as email, SMS and messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal to communicate with employees. While these technologies offer both efficiency and convenience, their use in communicating sensitive information, particularly for notifying employees of dismissal, raises legal concerns. This article explores the legal framework on dismissals across the EU, with a special focus on the use of digital means for communicating employment dismissals. Drawing on examples from various Member States, it examines the legal validity of digital dismissals.
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In 2023, thousands of workers in big tech lost their jobs. Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce had been considered to offer good and secure jobs up to this point. Giants of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, these companies are among the highest paying, with Eurostat data from 2022 indicating that workers in ICT had the second-highest median gross hourly earnings (surpassed only by earnings in the financial sector).[1] These layoffs were a shock, especially as the biggest companies had hired extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic. What happened in the two years after this redundancy wave – was that the end of the cuts or did the companies start expanding again?
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In 2024, the automotive sector in the EU came to the fore in public and policy discussions. The focus was on the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, rising global competition, belated investments in new technologies, and the potential closure of production lines in Europe. A number of European car manufacturers and suppliers announced their intention to make large-scale redundancies and change long-standing collective agreements on job security and wages, while workers raised concerns amid demonstrations and industrial action.
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