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 (22 - 23) Manufacture of rubber, plastic and non-metallic minerals 23.1 - Manufacture of glass and glass products 23.11 - Manufacture of flat glass
249 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
2 December 2004
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
1 December 2006
Description
On Thursday 2 December 2004, management of the automotive replacement glass company AGC Automotive, announced a third of its 840 workers would lose their jobs by the end of 2006. 284 jobs of the Fleurus site (ex-Splintex and now part of the Japanese firm Asahi Glass) are to be cut as a result of a reorganisation of the production. Two factories will specialise in making laminated glass and toughened glass for cars while machinery producing side windows will be shut down. The workers' reactions after the announcement were violent. Managers were taken hostages for two days and strikes were announced. On 18 February 2005, after 80 days of strike, no agreement has been reached between workers and management. According to the newspaper La Libre Belgique, if no agreement is to be achieved, the European Management of AGC could decide to close the plant by 2007 and cancel the €9 million investment initially planned. On 15 March 2005, an agreement was finally signed and 249 jobs are to be cut (of which 75 direct dismissals) rather than the original 284.
Sources
3 December 2004: Les Echos
18 February 2005: La Libre Belgique
3 December 2004: Le Soir
15 March 2005: La Libre Belgique
Citation
Eurofound (2004), AGC automotive, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 60826, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/60826.
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...