EGF shall support laid-off employees of the steel company Vallourec Deutschland GmbH

The European Commission decided on February 29, 2024, to support 835 former employees of Vallourec Deutschland GmbH (VAD) with the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to facilitate their reintegration into the workforce. With this decision, the European Commission has also approved Germany´s twelfth application to the EGF.

The VAD is a company of the French Vallourec Group and produces seamless hot-rolled steel tubes used in the energy sector, machinery and plant construction, as well as steel construction. The reason for the layoffs is the gradual closure of the plants in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Düsseldorf-Rath, as well as the relocation of the production to Brazil.

On the request of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, support for the affected workers will be intensified through EGF funds and implemented through the transfer company START NRW. The EGF can assist the dismissed employees from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2025, with qualifications, counselling, vocational preparation and orientation, start-up support, and other measures to help them in their job search and acquiring new skills.

The total funding volume amounts to nearly 5 million euros (of which 3 million euros are funding from the EGF). The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament still need to approve the use of the EGF in the upcoming EU budgetary procedure.