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.
Sky Deutschland was acquired by the RTL Group and merged with another German media company, RTL Deutschland in June 2026. RTL Deutschland announced that it will cut around 500 jobs by the end of 2027, with the majority of cuts expected to take place as early as 2026. Geographically, the cuts affect job sites in Munich and Cologne.
The job cuts are implemented following the acquisition of Sky Deutschland and are aimed at optimizing costs and structures, particularly by eliminating duplicate functions and streamlining program planning.
As of September 2026, it is still unclear how the cuts will be distributed among the different locations, Sky Deutschland and RTL Deutschland. Expiring contracts will not be renewed and open positions will not be filled. The measure will be implemented in close cooperation with the working councils.
The cuts were denunciated by the services union Ver.di.
RTL has more than 5,300 employees while Sky Deutschland has around 2,170.
Previously RTL Deutschland RTL Deutschland has already cut around 600 jobs in 2025.
Eurofound (2026), RTL Deutschland, Merger/Acquisition in Germany, factsheet number 301130, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/301130.
Eurofound’s ERM restructuring legislation database offers an overview of key restructuring-related regulations in the EU Member States and Norway. Its content is continuously updated to reflect any changes made by national legislators in response to, for instance, policy shifts, legal...
Can Europe still achieve its ambitions for battery manufacturing? To answer this, the article looks at data from Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor and explores what recent large-scale restructuring events reveal about the state of play in the EU battery sector.
This working paper offers a comprehensive methodological overview of the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) databases. Even though the methodology has not changed over time, new categories have been added, and the way it has been used by researchers and policymakers...
This Eurofound research paper explores key trends in restructuring in recent years, highlighting the companies that announced the largest job losses and job gains in the EU. It builds on an analysis of company announcements recorded in Eurofound’s European Restructuring...
In 2023, thousands of workers in big tech lost their jobs. Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce had been considered to offer good and secure jobs up to this point. Giants of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector,...
In 2024, the automotive sector in the EU came to the fore in public and policy discussions. The focus was on the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, rising global competition, belated investments in new technologies, and the potential closure...
