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 Bulgarian IT company Scale Focus cuts 120 IT positions at its offices in Sofia. Around 30 employees were dismissed at the end of March and another 90 employees at the beginning of June 2020. The company's management stated that, on the one hand, many customer projects have been halted due to the coronavirus crisis. On the other hand, the company has been undergoing internal restructuring for a year now, which was due to the transition to ready and semi-ready solutions required by the digitalisation of their customers' businesses, i.e. there was a transition from service to product-service solutions. According to the company leaders, the restructuring requires a different skill set from the employees and it will allow sustaining the work of about 800 workers, who are still working for the company. The company is continuing its investments in North Macedonia.
There are no trade unions representatives in the company, therefore there is no information for any involvement or reaction on these dismissals. Before the restructuring, some workers had to work for two months with reduced to half working hours and half a wage. The rest of the employees will be offered a 5% wage cut and will lose some of their other benefits, like fitness subscriptions and city transport cards.
Scale Focus is a European IT solutions delivery centre, offering digital, cloud, data and IoT services and solutions with 12 locations worldwide.
Eurofound (2020), Scale Focus, Internal restructuring in Bulgaria, factsheet number 100896, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/100896.