Type
Closure
Country
Greece
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Arts / Entertainment
Arts, Entertainment And Culture
Libraries, Archives, Museums And Other Cultural Activities
91 - Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities

250 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
31 August 2010
Employment effect (start)
31 August 2010
Foreseen end date
30 September 2010

Description

The Hellenic Culture Organization (HCO), a company aiming at promoting the Greek cultural heritage and supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is closing down and its 250 employees across the country will lose their jobs.

According to media sources, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism (YPPOT) announced on Tuesday, 31 August 2010 that HCO is to close by the end of September due to problematic finances. Another reason is the alleged overlap of responsibilities with the Archaeological Receipts and Expropriation Fund (ARF), a public corporate body under the YPPOT, responsible for allocating the income deriving from, among others, the expropriation and purchase of archaeological sites and real estate, the construction and repair of museum, the publication and distribution of archaeological studies and periodicals as well as of authentic copies and applications of archaelogical motifs, etc.

The HCO's employees took part in a protest march on the Greek Parliament to ask for an extension of their contracts or alternatively a transfer to ARF and/or YPPOT.

The Hellenic Culture Organization started its operation in 2000 aiming at the promotion and implementation of programs in the context of the Cultural Olympiad and continued aiming at promoting the Greek cultural heritage and showcasing the modern cultural aspect of the country both in Greece and abroad.


Sources

  • 2 September 2010: Ethnos

Citation

Eurofound (2010), Hellenic Culture Organization (HCO), Closure in Greece, factsheet number 70902, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/70902.