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.
Horst Brandstätter, a German toy manufacturing company, announced the closing of its "Playmobil" manufacturing plant in Dietenhofen as a result of offshoring production abroad to Czechia and Malta, consequently leading to the dismissal of all 350 employees currently working at the site.
The job losses were set out in a restructuring plan announced by the firm in February 2026 and are to be implemented by the end of June 2026. Horst Brandstätter attributes the decision to rising production costs in Germany and the company’s difficult economic situation.
Management and the works council have agreed on a social plan. This includes severance payments, training measures, and the establishment of a transfer company to support affected employees.
Horst Brandstätter employs about 2,800 employees worldwide and has its headquarters in Zirndorf, Germany.
Eurofound (2026), Horst Brandstätter , Offshoring/Delocalisation in Germany, factsheet number 300095, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/300095.