Opel
The German producer of medium-priced, small and medium-sized cars closed its plant in Bochum, Germany, in order to reduce excess production capacity after sales fell by 39% between 2007 and 2013. The shutdown of the plant resulted in almost 2,900 redundancies, 2,692 of which would benefit from the EGF aid worth €7 million requested by Germany.
Ford
Belgium applied for EGF aid for the final wave of redundant workers dismissed by car maker Ford Genk and its 11 suppliers after the car-manufacturing plant closed in Genk. The shutdown was due to a decline in the production of passenger cars and in the sales of new cars in the European Union, largely to the benefit of Asian carmakers. The current application worth €6.3 million is intended to help 4,500 former workers get back to work.
Belgium has already received €570,000 to help former Ford workers find work following the the initial wave of redundancies in 2013.
The applications of Germany and Belgium are the 21st and 22nd in the automotive sector since the launch of EGF aid in 2007.
Alitalia
The Italian flag carrier had to dismiss over 1,200 workers, chiefly as a consequence of the decline in its market share of international air-passenger transport, most of which has been taken up by carriers from the Gulf States and Turkey. The fall in passenger numbers during the economic crisis and the increase in fuel prices exacerbated the situation of Alitalia. Most of the dismissals occured in the region of Lazio. Italy asked for EGF aid to help the 184 workers experienceing the greatest difficulties in finding new jobs.
Worth €1.4 million, this is the second application for EGF aid in the air transport sector (after the application of Air France in 2013).
Next steps
To take effect, the new rules must be approved by Parliament as a whole, which is scheduled to vote on them at the first plenary session in October, and endorsed by the member states, which are set to decice on 5 October.
Background
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund contributes to packages of tailor-made services to help redundant workers find new jobs. Its annual ceiling is €150 million.
Redundant workers are offered measures such as support for business start-ups, job-search assistance, occupational guidance and various kinds of training. In most cases, national authorities have already started the measures and will have their costs reimbursed by the EU when their applications are finally approved.
REF. : 20150929IPR94901
