Type
Relocation
Country
Germany
Region
Nordrhein-Westfalen;
Location of affected unit(s)
Herford, Seelbach, Oberlungwitz, Bad Oeynhausen
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Rubber And Plastic Products And Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products
Manufacture Of Rubber And Plastic Products
22 - Manufacture of rubber and plastic products

592 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
23 October 2006
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date

Description

On 23 October 2006 Balda, a manufacturer of bodies for mobile phones, announced its plans to cut 1,000 out of its current 1,600 jobs. Beyond this a further 450 employees of temporary work agencies might be affected by the restructuring. The company announced that 750 jobs might be cut by the sale of three production sites in Herford (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Oberlungwitz (Sachsen) and Seelbach (Baden-Württemberg). The remaining 250 jobs are supposed to be cut at the site at Bad Oeynhausen (Nordrhein-Westfalen). The setting up of a social plan will regulate the terms of the job reduction. The company argues that a substantial share of its business has been lost as a result of the bankruptcy of BenQ.

On 26 February 2007, Balda realised the sale of its affiliates Balda-Heinze GmbH & Co.KG and HeRo Galvanotechnik GmbH in Herford as well as Sächsische Metall- und Kunststoffveredelungs GmbH in Oberlungwitz. The purchaser of all three mentioned Balda affiliates is Hanse Industrie- und Beteiligungs-GmbH in Hamburg and employment of all 408 workers of the three companies is expected to continue.

On 6 March 2007, Balda announced that the company reached an agreement on the social plan for its affiliates Balda Solutions Deutschland and Balda Werkzeugbau in Bad Oeynhausen. In this context 250 employees are affected. 140 employees were already released. The remaining 110 employees shall be employed by a transfer agency (Transfergesellschaft) where they are supposed to participate in trainings and look for new jobs. There is no further information on the development of the Seelbach unit or the remaining 342 people.


Sources

  • 26 October 2006: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
  • 27 December 2006: Handelsblatt
  • 7 March 2007: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Citation

Eurofound (2006), Balda, Relocation in Germany, factsheet number 64332, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/64332.