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.
Ford, an American multinational carmaker, announced the closure of its plant in Genk, Eastern Belgium. 4,300 people are directly affected by the closure of the Genk plant, and it is reported that another 5,000 indirect jobs could go. The closure will be implemented until the end of 2014.
According to the company's European management, the decision is due to overcapacity of production and the global economic outlook. According to some media reports, some of the jobs may be offshored to Spain.
It is reported that the unions named the closure a "social drama". They hope to find alternatives to the closure. It is also reported that the Belgian authorities have voiced their discontent with the closure.
Updated, 23-12-2013: As reported, Belgium applied for assistance from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). The application refers to a first wave of redundancies (512 jobs) as part of the closure that will take place in 2014 and will affect about 4,340 jobs. As mentioned, 2,820 redundancies are expected at its suppliers in the province of Limburg.
Updated, 22-08-2014: The European Commission has proposed to provide Belgium with €570,945 from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 479 workers made redundant by Ford in Genk (Belgium) and its suppliers to find new jobs. The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers for approval. Belgium applied for support from the EGF following the redundancies of 512 workers of Ford-Werke GmbH (Ford Genk) and ten of its suppliers. The total estimated cost of the package is €1.14 million, of which the EGF would provide half.
Eurofound (2012), Ford, Closure in Belgium, factsheet number 74385, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/74385.
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