Europe needs new moratorium on redundancies

Trade unions are calling for a moratorium on compulsory redundancies to deal with a growing jobs crisis exacerbated by Europe's lack of an industrial policy.

European trade unions gathered in Brussels this week for the ETUC Executive Committee to discuss how to protect and create quality jobs. The agenda included interventions by Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa.

The call for a moratorium on redundancies comes amid a wave of layoffs in sectors ranging from the car industry to the banking sector. Between 2008 and 2023, 2.3 million manufacturing jobs were lost in the EU, including almost a almost a million job losses in manufacturing since 2019. The full extent of the crisis is being masked by short-term contracts and reduced hours, which could add up to as many as 4.3 million jobs.

The situation shows the urgent need for a European industrial policy, supported by a permanent SURE-style investment mechanism, and a directive dedicated to ensuring there is a just transition for workers in industries affected by the move to a green and digital economy.

The European Commission has pledged to bring forward an industrial deal in its first 100 days, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to increase investment, and the Commission's political guidelines commit to ensuring "a just transition for all".

Even with the promise of these plans, doubts remain that they will have the public and private financial making to rise to the challenge faced by workers across Europe.

That's why there should be a temporary ban on all forced redundancies to ensure Europe emerges from this crisis with its skilled workforce and industry capacity intact.

That would mirror the measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Germany, France and Italy were among several European countries implemented temporary moratoriums on forced redundancies.

ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:

"Europe is currently hemorrhaging quality jobs because we do not have in place the measures needed to support our companies and their workforce to remain competitive.

"That is not inevitable. A properly designed industrial policy supported by increased investment can stop this crisis, and a just transition directive would ensure no worker is left behind.

"The European Commission has committed to delivering those measures, and companies should wait until they are in place before taking decisions about their futures."

ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said:

"Too often we see companies rushing into major restructuring processes without having engaged in social dialogue to identity potential alternatives to slash-and-burn job cuts."

"That is not the European way. It risks irrevocably eroding our industrial base and creating a new social crisis from which it will take decades to recover.

"That is why we need to reinstate the moratorium on redundancies which was successful in helping Europe come through the pandemic without a major economic crisis."

ETUC Statement: Call for a Moratorium on Forced Redundancies