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.
Manufacturing Manufacture Of Chemicals And Pharamceuticals Manufacture Of Chemicals And Chemical Products 20.13 - Manufacture Of Other Inorganic Basic Chemicals
100 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
22 November 2023
Employment effect (start)
22 December 2023
Foreseen end date
Description
Solar cell manufacturer REC Solar is closing its production in Norway, affecting around 100 employees at its sites in Kristiansand and Herøya. The company, which had been facing economic challenges, made this decision after efforts to sustain its business over the past year proved unfeasible, particularly due to the inability to achieve profitable production of high-purity silicon in Norway. The company had around 110 employees left in Norway at the time of the announcement, as opposed to 250 employees in September 2022. The factories were sold to Elkem in January 2024, but Elkem does not plan to resume solar cell production and the sale will not affect the dismissals. This shutdown reflects the intense competition REC Solar faced, especially from Chinese companies. Despite being among the largest European brands in solar panels and benefiting from government support, the company's struggle with financial viability has led to the closure of its operations in Norway. The announcement has been met with regret by both the company's management and its workforce, as well as Minister of Trade and Industry, Jan-Christian Vestre, who pointed to the price dumping practiced by Chinese companies and underscored the need for ensuring European competitiveness and competence development in this area, but that this rests on the willingness to also purchase European products to counteract dependency on non-EU suppliers.
Eurofound (2023), Rec Solar, Closure in Norway, factsheet number 200767, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200767.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
