Tue, Apr 30th 2024
Stahl Gerlafingen announces the closure of the Profilstrasse production line by end of May 2024.
The announced closure of one of the two production lines at steel manufacturer Stahl Gerlafingen will now take place at the end of May 2024. The associated reduction of 95 jobs will result in around 75 redundancies, as the company announced following the conclusion of the consultation process.
According to a press release issued by the Solothurn-based company on Tuesday, possible approaches to avoid the closure were discussed intensively with the social partners during the consultation process provided for in the collective labor agreement (CLA).
After thorough consideration of various options, the Board of Directors decided to implement the closure. This “absolutely necessary” step is intended to stop the outflow of funds from the loss-making Profilstrasse.
The various measures promised by politicians are also not expected to come into effect until 2025, which is too late to keep the Profilstrasse in operation, the statement continues.
Those directly affected by the closure will benefit from a social plan that has yet to be negotiated. This will be negotiated together with the employee commission and should cushion the impact of the redundancies as much as possible for those affected.
Stahl Gerlafingen blames the measures on the “de facto EU import ban on Swiss steel in place since mid-2023”. In addition, the “massive distortions of competition due to EU industry support measures” have severely affected the plant’s sales and margins in Switzerland.
©Keystone/SDA
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