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.
Jungheinrich, a German manufacturer of forklift trucks and logistics technology, will close its plant in Lüneburg (Lower Saxony) with around 380 employees by 2027 and cut 200 jobs at its plants in Norderstedt (Schleswig-Holstein) and a double-digit number at its headquarters in Hamburg. The majority of the jobs will be cut in production.
The reasons for the restructuring are a change in market demand for cheaper machines, a slump in profits in 2025 with a reduction in the EBIT forecast, and additional financial burdens due to the sale of the Russian subsidiary below market value.
As the Lüneburg site will be closed, all employees there will lose their jobs. The job cuts in Norderstedt will be carried out through a voluntary programme with severance packages, which is also aimed at older employees. The first employees have already left the company.
The IG Metall trade union responded with sharp criticism, describing the planned first site closure in Germany as a ‘taboo breach’. The union and workforce are demanding that all locations be retained. They have organised and accused the company management of pursuing its growth targets for 2030 at the expense of its employees.
The job cuts in Germany are part of a global measure by Jungheinrich to cut 1,000 jobs worldwide Jungheinrich 2025 - WO.
Updated, 13/02/2026: Following negotiations between IG Metall and Jungheinrich, the parties reached an agreement on a reconciliation of interests, a social compensation plan, and a social collective agreement for the Lüneburg site. Production there will cease at the end of March 2027. 160 employees are losing their jobs, while 120 office positions in the design department are expected to be retained.The 160 employees will receive severance payments, and a transfer company will be established to support them in finding new employment. The agreement follows a lengthy labour dispute. According to the union, the production staff in Lüneburg had been on an indefinite strike since 20 November 2025, lasting more than 80 days.
Eurofound (2025), Jungheinrich, Closure in Germany, factsheet number 203181, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203181.
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...
