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.
The forest industry giant Stora Enso is begining co-determination negotiations with plans to shut down its Kvarnsveden paper and pulp factory in Borlänge, Sweden. The factory employs 440 people. Stora Enso is one of the largest employers in the Dalarna region. Therefore, the effects of the plant closure on the regional economy are expected to be significant.
Stora Enso has deemed the factory to be unprofitable due to the global decline of printed media. The CEO pointed out that there is currently an overproduction of paper in Europe. The popularity of printed media has faced a further decline during the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in consumer habits.
The Swedish Paper Workers’ Union is hoping that the co-determination negotiations will result in parts of the factory's operations to be saved. The union calls for Stora Enso and the regional government to seek out other economic opportunities to fill in the employment gap that the closure of the factory would cause for the region. Stora Enso has pledged to work closely with the region, their other factories and additional stakeholders to ensure the re-employment and further training of the affected employees.
Stora Enso is a Finnish-based multinational company with sales of €8.6 billion in 2020 and around 23, 000 employees worldwide. In Sweden, Stora Enso employs 1, 250 people.
The company’s operations in Sweden have undergone heavy restructuring during the recent years. The Kvarnsveden factory is the second factory in Sweden that Stora Enso has shut down within a year, following the closure of the Hylte Mill in 2020. In addition to the Kvarnsveden factory, Stora Enso also plans to close the Veitsiluoto factory in Finland.
Eurofound (2021), Stora Enso, Closure in Sweden, factsheet number 104702, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/104702.
Eurofound’s ERM restructuring legislation database offers an overview of key restructuring-related regulations in the EU Member States and Norway. Its content is continuously updated to reflect any changes made by national legislators in response to, for instance, policy shifts, legal...
Can Europe still achieve its ambitions for battery manufacturing? To answer this, the article looks at data from Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor and explores what recent large-scale restructuring events reveal about the state of play in the EU battery sector.
This working paper offers a comprehensive methodological overview of the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) databases. Even though the methodology has not changed over time, new categories have been added, and the way it has been used by researchers and policymakers...
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...
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,...
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...
