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.
The Dutch bank ING has announced a reduction of 2,300 jobs in the Netherlands to be completed by 2021. The reductions are part of a global restructuring involving 7,000 job cuts, of which 3,500 concern Belgium. According to the company, the cuts are a result of digitalisation and automation in the banking industry, and part of a cost reduction effort intended to create savings of €900 million worldwide for the group. In May 2016, the ERM previously reported on 300 job cuts in the Netherlands that were also attributed to digitalisation. The company is reported to be investing €800 million in digitalisation in an effort to boost their competitiveness. However, internal documents have shown that there is a likelihood that some of the jobs will be relocated to offices in low-cost countries in Eastern Europe and Asia, which has sparked protests from worker representatives. The unions have expressed severe criticism regarding the high number of jobs lost, claiming cuts of this magnitude are not warranted. The unions have also conveyed disappointment towards the company, commenting that the restructuring is irresponsible towards the Dutch society and government, which bailed out the company from bankruptcy in 2008 with a capital injection of €10 billion. Worker representatives are also concerned about the effects of further digitalisation at ING, currently a front runner in digitalisation in the banking sector, as it is likely to push other banks to follow, adding to the many mass redundancies the sector has seen in recent years (Rabobank 2013, 2014, 2016; ABN Amro 2011, 2016).
Eurofound (2016), ING, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 88970, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/88970.
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...
