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.
SmartLynx Airlines faces the loss of nearly all its jobs in Latvia after the airline ceased operations in November 2025. At the time of shutdown, the company employed around 380 people in Latvia. The company entered legal protection proceedings in late October 2025 following financial difficulties and high levels of debt. In parallel, ownership changed hands, with 90% of shares sold to the Dutch entity Stichting Break Point Distressed Assets Management, while the CEO and CFO each acquired 5%. Despite the restructuring attempt, operations were halted on 24 November 2025, and all air operator certificates (Latvia, Estonia, Malta) were suspended, leading the company to file for insolvency shortly thereafter. Only a small team remained in place to manage aircraft returns to lessors. The trade union for aviation employees raised concerns about how SmartLynx handled the dismissals. It stated that the company was asking employees to sign mutual termination agreements, which provide only pay for worked time and compensation for unused leave, without statutory severance. The union highlighted that this approach circumvents proper consultation processes required in collective redundancies and could leave workers without access to protections normally available in insolvency cases. Trade union also noted that many crew members are employed on service contracts via agencies. Thus they fall outside the formal redundancy process entirely. The public broadcaster’s programme de Facto reported that the State Labour Inspectorate has begun an investigation into the dismissal of employees, but has not yet reported its conclusions.
Eurofound (2025), SmartLynx Airlines, Bankruptcy in Latvia, factsheet number 203833, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203833.
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