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.
LKQ Belgium, a branch of the multinational LKQ group, specialised in distributing alternates and speciality parts to repair and accessorise automobiles and other vehicles, has announced restructuring measures that involve significant dismissals. The company LKQ Belgium is planning to close certain sites, including those in Ichtegem and Erembodegem, and relocate others, such as the Henrard site in Namur. In total, 108 employees are currently at risk of losing their jobs. In the months leading up to the current restructuring efforts, approximately 50 employees were already dismissed nationwide. The company management states that the current COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the automobile market and forces them to take action. Local trade union delegations are, however, skeptical, as all employees were on temporary unemployment during the crisis, reducing labour costs significantly for the company.
Eurofound (2020), LKQ Belgium, Closure in Belgium, factsheet number 101149, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101149.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
