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.
Severna i Yugoiztochna Bulgaria; Severen tsentralen; Ruse
Location of affected unit(s)
Ruse
Sector
Manufacturing (13 - 15) Manufacture of textiles, apparel and leather 14 - Manufacture of wearing apparel 14 - Manufacture of wearing apparel
400 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
19 November 2025
Employment effect (start)
1 January 2026
Foreseen end date
31 December 2026
Description
BTB Bulgaria, a company in the manufacture of wearing apparel sector, announced the closure of its operations in Bulgaria and the dismissal of approximately 400 employees at its production unit in Ruse. The decision follows a reported financial loss of 4.73 million BGN (2.42 Euro) in the last financial year and a significant decline in incoming orders.
The company stated that the shutdown of production will begin in early 2026, with all employment contracts expected to be terminated within a single procedure. Affected workers are mainly permanent full-time employees in sewing, technical, and support functions. Management attributes the restructuring to intensified price competition from Asian online platforms, rising labour and energy costs, and the inability to sustain profitability.
The job cuts will be carried out through direct dismissals, with no voluntary schemes or internal redeployment programmes reported. According to media reports, local trade unions have expressed serious concern about the social impact on the region and have called on public authorities to provide support for retraining and labour-market reintegration of affected workers.
BTB Bulgaria is a long-standing investor in Ruse, established in 1998 by the German entrepreneur Achim Bayerl, and has played a significant role in the local textile and garment industry.
Eurofound (2025), BTB Bulgaria, Closure in Bulgaria, factsheet number 203731, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203731.
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.
