Portuguese auto workers who recently lost their jobs in layoffs are to receive EUR2.42mmillion from the European Union (EU) in social assistance and retraining packages.
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The money will come from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, designed to help Europe cope with economic change brought by worldwide economic change.
It will assist 1,549 former workers, who lost jobs in the last 15 months: at the Opel plant in Azambuja, southern Portugal, (where there were 945 redundancies); at electric component supplier Alcoa Fujikura, where 440 jobs went at Seixal, near Lisbon; and at interior systems supplier Johnson Controls where 222 workers were shed, at Portalegre, in Alentejo.
Council minutes said the aid would help “redundant workers who suffer from the consequences of major structural changes and assist them with their integration into the labour market.”
Portugal has been at the brunt of a decline in European automotive manufacturing capacity, noted a European Commission memorandum.
Considering all vehicles, Portuguese production declined from 251,000 units in 2002 to 227,000 in 2006, with a steeper fall for passenger cars, from 182,000 in 2002 to 143,000 in 2006.
“Motor vehicle production in Portugal is concentrated specifically in the lower value segment of the market, which has been particularly affected,” noted Brussels.
Keith Nuthall/International News Services
