Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
FedEx, an American courier service company bought TNT express in 2016. As part of the integration, FedEx announced it will dismiss 671 employees in its facility in the airport of Liege. The restructuring is part of a larger European strategy to centralise operations further. Concretely, a part of the activities at the airport of Liege will be transferred to Paris Charles De Gaulle. Trade union representatives at FedEx have stated that currently only administrative personnel are affected by the internal restructuring. The larger European effort will in total lead to the dismissal of approximately 6300 employees.
Update 01/07/2021: After the so-called Renault procedure has passed, which involves obligatory negotiations and consultations between the employer and trade unions, the number of dismissals has been reduced to a total of 157.
Update 08/02/2023
In 2022, the airport in Liege was further downsized as part of the plan to make the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport the primary hub. As a result, the final number of dismissed employees is 559.
An application to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support the redundant workers was filed, for which €1.9 million has been granted.
Eurofound (2021), FedEx, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 103025, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/103025.