The European Commission has approved an application from Poland for assistance from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
The € 633 077 requested by the Polish authorities will help 590 redundant workers back into employment. The application was submitted after 1 104 employees were made redundant from two manufacturers of cables and wiring systems for the automotive market located in the Polish region of Wielkopolskie. The application will now be sent to the European Parliament and the Member States (the EU's Budgetary Authority) who have to approve the release of the funds.
"The automotive industry in Europe has seen demand plummet and its workers are experiencing difficulties. I am confident that today's decision will help these Polish workers return to employment by increasing their skills," said EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor.
The Polish application relates to 1 104 redundancies in two manufacturers of cables and wiring systems for car production, SEWS Polska Sp. z o.o. and Leoni Autokabel Polska Sp. z o.o. Both enterprises are located in the western Polish region of Wielkopolskie. The dismissals were a consequence of the financial and economic crisis which resulted in a substantial decrease in demand for vehicles and car components. In the first half of 2009 production of cars in Poland was only 48.7 % of the production in the corresponding period in 2008, and in the truck sector, production was only 27% of the production in the corresponding period in 2008.
The three most affected districts (Ostrzeszów; Leszno and Rawicz) are all in the southern part of the Wielkopolskie region and the impact of the redundancies is locally significant. The redundancies from the two manufacturers made up 9 % of the total number of those unemployed in Leszno, 14.8 % in Rawicz and 33,4 % in Ostrzeszów, during the year from December 2008 to December 2009.
The financial assistance from the EGF is targeted at the 590 workers with the greatest difficulties for re-integration into the labour market. The package of EGF assistance will help the car workers of Wielkopolskie by offering them on the job training, tailor-made training and retraining, aid for self-employment, equipment and refitting of workplace and training allowances. The total estimated cost of the package is almost one million euro, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of € 633 077.
