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.
Zalakerámia, the Hungarian subsidiary of Austria-based building material manufacturer Lasselsberger, will end production in its Tófej plant and lay off 80-90% of the personnel of the plant. The remaining workforce will suffice to sell the remaining output stock.The Zalakerámia plants have been heavily hit by the steep rise in energy prices since 2021. In the second half of 2022, the Tófej plant already halted production for a couple of months. This was compounded by a government decree in February 2023 that imposed a so-called additional mining tax on Zalakerámia.
According to analysts, this policy step aimed to prompt the Austrian owner to sell the firm to Hungarian investors. The drastic layoff, however, suggests that the management decides upon ending the operation of the plant instead. Officially the union representatives have been only informed about "a restructuring of production" so far. The government says it will draw up an action plan to handle the consequences of the lay-off, adding that there are plenty of vacancies in Zala County.
Eurofound (2023), Zalakerámia, Internal restructuring in Hungary, factsheet number 109155, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/109155.