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.
American automotive parts supplier Lear Corporation has announced the closure of its Gödöllő plant, and the subsequent offshoring of production. 831 employees will be laid off as a result.
The Gödöllő plant produces cable whips. While global cable whip demand is declining, the specific products made at the Gödöllő plant do not face product shortages. The firm is transferring its cable whip production to countries with lower wage costs, to achieve better cost efficiency. As of 24 September, there is no information about the timing of the layoffs, nor about the specific locations to which the production will be relocated.
For the same reasons, the company already closed another cable whip plant in Gyöngyös in 2018. At that time, the firm started to gradually reduce the output of the Gödöllő plant as well.
The closure is a severe blow to the workforce because of the favourable working conditions. More than two-thirds of the workforce worked for the company for several decades. A significant share of the workers was from Northern Hungary, a region with generally unfavourable labour market conditions. These workers may face difficulties in finding new jobs.
Eurofound (2023), Lear Corporation Hungary, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Hungary, factsheet number 200317, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/200317.