The European Commission has today approved an application from Spain for assistance under the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF). The application will now be sent to the European Parliament and the Council for decision. The € 2,752,935 requested by the Spanish authorities will help 1,429 redundant workers back into employment. The application was submitted after 2,330 employees were made redundant bye 23 enterprises operating in the automotive sector in Catalonia, in the north-east of Spain.

“The car industry has suffered enormously because of the financial and economic crisis”, said László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. He added: “We welcome the Spanish application for EGF funding and I am confident that the planned measures funded through the EGF will help these workers find a new job quickly”.

The Spanish application relates to 2,330 redundancies in 23 enterprises operating in the automotive sector. The dismissals were a consequence of the serious impact that the global financial and economic crisis has had on demand for vehicles in Spain and in its export markets. In 2008 new car registrations in Spain declined by 28 % compared with the previous year, mainly due to tight credit conditions, low consumer confidence and declining purchasing power. Moreover, the global nature of the crisis also led to a sales drop of 9.6 % for vehicles manufactured in Spain and sold outside the country.

All the redundancies covered by this application occurred in autonomous region of Catalonia. The number of dismissals compared with the previous year, had increased by 42 % in 2008 and by 157 % in 2009 in the Catalonian automotive sector.

Source:http://www.clepa.be/index.php?id=news&no_cache=1