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.
Thompson Aero Seating, the UK-based designer and manufacturer of premium quality aircraft seats, has made 330 agency, temporary and contractor employees redundant in Northern Ireland with immediate effect.
The company has issued a statement saying that due to the Covid-19 pandemic its airline customers had reduced their orders, which had a direct effect on the business and it is important that the company’s output matches the demand. Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly have called on the company’s management to reconsider the job cuts and access the UK government’s scheme for salary protection.
Thompson Aero Seating is one of the leading suppliers of business and first class aircraft seating, whose customers include Delta, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. The company’s majority owner is the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, controlled by the Chinese state.
Update 2/7/2020:
Thompson Aero Seating has announced that it will cut up to 500 additional jobs, two-fifths of its Northern Irish workforce. It has been reported that due to a major order with a June completion, the company was not able to furlough staff under the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Protection Scheme, as workers had to be furloughed for the first time by 10 June 2020 to receive support under the Scheme. The total number of job losses is now at 830.
Eurofound (2020), Thompson Aero Seating, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 100207, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/100207.