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.
Manufacturing Manufacture Of Basic Metal And Fabricated Metal Products Manufacture Of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery And Equipment 25.99 - Manufacture of other fabricated metal products n.e.c.
138 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
30 July 2019
Employment effect (start)
19 August 2019
Foreseen end date
31 August 2019
Description
The Commercial Court of Amiens has agreed the takeover of the WN factory to Ageco Agencement, a company specialising in the layout of shops and local authorities. This offer plans to take over only 44 of the 182 employees and therefore leads to 138 redundancies. In May 2018, the Whirlpool plant was taken over and kept less than 200 out of the 282 employees working there. But, for more than two years, the employees of the former Whirlpool dryer factory have been working at a slower pace and under uncertainty. During this time, the plant has raised €12 million, mostly in subsidies: €7.4 million from Whirlpool (of which €5.3 million was used to pay late wages) and €2.5 million from the State. But due to a lack of orders, these sums were not enough to get the plant back on track. The company then found itself in a negative cash flow situation.
According to the Ministry of Economy, which conducted an audit on the use of this public funds, 98.5% of the expenditure was justified, even if there is a grey area of €179,000.
Eurofound (2019), WN, Merger/Acquisition in France, factsheet number 98773, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/98773.
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