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.
Enefit Kaevandused AS announced collective redundancy of 146 persons plus additional 20 persons in 2019. Enefit Kaevandused is an oil shale extraction company in Ida-Virumaa, Estonia, employing currently 2,305 employees. It is a subsidary of Eesti Energia - a state-owned international energy company that operates in the electricity and gas markets of the Baltic countries and Poland, also in the international liquid fuels market.
In 2019, some of the older energy blocks in Ida-Virumaa reach their maximum lifespan according to the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and thus must be shut down. As these blocks all run with oil shale, the shutdown will reduce the demand for oil shale. This will affect Enefit Kaevandused AS, whose workload will decrease and thus layoffs are needed. The redundancy will take place gradually according to the reduction in production volume as of February, the peak will be in March. Initially, 146 people will be laid off, followed by another 20 in the second half of 2019.
Most of the persons facing redundancy are miners, but there are also around 50 persons working in logistics, maintenance and repair. 65% of all the persons made redundant are in retirement age. The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (EUIF) will provide help and support to all persons made redundant in the framework of their response service to collective redundancy. According to EUIF, there are currently around 700 vacancies available in the region, thus it can be expected that at least a good share of the persons are able to find a new job. Around 10% of the persons are also offered company pension paid by Eesti Energia in the future. This is meant for those who are still unemployed after the end of the unemployment insurance benefit payments and who have less than five years until their retirement age. The size of the company pension is €365 per month (the average wage of the miners in the region is €1,600, the national average wage is around €1,200 and the minimum wage is €540). Around 25% of the persons are offered re-training grant paid by Eesti Energia, in addition to the re-training benefits and possibilities by the EUIF.
Eurofound (2019), Enefit Kaevandused AS, Closure in Estonia, factsheet number 96370, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/96370.
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...
