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Interview in IR Notes 109 - 5 December 2018
A question for…
Petra Molenaar, expert advisor to European Works Councils, SBI Formaat
The Rotterdam District Court has delivered its emergency judgment in the Alcoa case (see 3. Companies). Are you satisfied with the result?
The judge agreed that the plan to close the two sites in Spain, which would leave 700 people redundant, is indeed a transnational matter which affects the whole group, as the planned job cuts represent around 20% of the company’s workforce in Europe. So the court supports us in our analysis that it is indeed a transnational matter and not just a plan that affects a single country. However, the judge is not convinced that the management has already made its decision. He considers that the beginning of a 30-day consultation process in Spain could provide an opportunity to amend the plan, whereas the European Works Council, for its part, believes that the purpose of this time limit is merely to negotiate a redundancy plan rather than discuss the closure plan. So we have lodged an emergency appeal in the hope of having the proceedings suspended.
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