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.
Région Wallonne; Prov. Brabant Wallon; Arr. Nivelles
Location of affected unit(s)
Waterloo
Sector
Manufacturing Manufacturing Of Machinery And Equipment Manufacture Of Machinery And Equipment N.E.C. 28.1 - Manufacture of general-purpose machinery
New offshoring locations
Czechia
167 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
19 May 2016
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
31 December 2016
Description
Doosan, a South-Korean conglomerate has decided to close its facility in Waterloo. This particular facility was responsible for the production of excavators and dump trucks. The Doosan Group seeks to transfer and centralise their production capabilities in the Czech republic, where another production site already exists. Because of this the site in Waterloo will become obsolete. Both white collar and blue collar workers will lose their jobs as a result of the closure of the Walloon factory. Trade unions have not been informed as to date, and they are still awaiting an invitation from the employer to start up negotiations. The relocation will have an impact on other local subcontractors as well. The Doosan Group has been acquiring several companies for the past 15 years across the globe, however, their activities in Belgium are in decline. At the beginning of 2015 the factory in Frameries (province of Hainaut) was closed as well, which led to the dismissal of 313 employees.
Sources
19 May 2016: De Tijd
19 May 2016: De Standaard
11 May 2016: De Tijd
Citation
Eurofound (2016), Doosan, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Belgium, factsheet number 87513, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/87513.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
