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.
Accell, a Dutch company active in the manufacturing of bicycles and related transport equipment, has announced the definitive offshoring of production from its Batavus factory in Heerenveen, Friesland. The restructuring involves the loss of 160 jobs as the remaining assembly activities are relocated to Accell’s lower-cost plant in Tószeg, Hungary, where production costs are 30% lower.
The restructuring is attributed to continued cost pressures, overcapacity, and weak market conditions in the European bicycle sector, particularly in Germany. The factory had already halved its workforce in 2024 and shifted standard model assembly to Hungary. Only premium models remained in Heerenveen. After closure, only around 100 employees (mainly designers) will remain in Heerenveen, relocating to a different site. This closure is part of a broader strategy by Accell to consolidate its production footprint and follows similar closures in Germany and Turkey Accell 2024 - NL.
Eurofound (2025), Accell, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Netherlands, factsheet number 203282, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203282.