Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Hungary
Region
Dunantul; Kozep-Dunantul; Fejer
Location of affected unit(s)
Iváncsa
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Computer, Electrical Electronic And Optical Products
Manufacture Of Electrical Equipment
27.20 - Manufacture Of Batteries And Accumulators

609 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
12 May 2024
Employment effect (start)
12 May 2024
Foreseen end date
12 May 2024

Description

South Korean oil and energy firm SK Innovation announced a mass layoff at its Iváncsa lithium-ion battery plant, with immediate effect. About 600 agency workers were affected in the layoff. They are foreign workers, primarily from Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Mongolia and the Philippines, according to a trade union representative. The firm's Hungarian employees are unaffected so far.

The firm decided upon the layoff because of the cancellation of a large-scale order by a European car manufacturer amid the marked weakening of demand for electric vehicles.

The laid-off agency workers have a notice period of 15 days. If they cannot find work during that period, they have to leave the Schengen area. The Ukrainian guest workers are exempt from this regulation.

The Iváncsa plant has not yet started producing – more precisely, it is still in its test run phase – but its operation has already generated reports about ill-treatment of employees, noise pollution and a workplace poisoning accident.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2024), SK On Hungary, Internal restructuring in Hungary, factsheet number 201207, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201207.