Brussels, 27/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 September, the European Commission approved two requests - one from Germany and one from Finland - for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). They relate to redundancies in two companies in the mobile phone sector: BenQ in Germany and Perlos in Finland. The requests will now be put to the European Parliament and the Council for decision.
In December 2006, the Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer BenQ withdrew financial support from the two subsidiary companies, resulting in about 3,300 workers being made redundant in three production sites in Munich, Kamp-Lintfort and Bocholt. The contribution requested from the EGF in the BenQ application is €12.8 million. The Perlos application relates to redundancies in two Finnish production plants. Some 1,000 redundancies were caused by the decision to discontinue production activities in Finland and to close down two Perlos factories located in Joensuu and Kontiolahti, in the Northern Karelia region, by September 2007. The contribution requested from the EGF in the Perlos application is €2 million.
Both applications are made against a general trend of relocating production for mobile phones and accessories, mostly to Asia, says a Commission press release. This is not only because mobile phone production costs are lower there, it also comes from the proximity of technology partners and a fast-growing consumer market. (gb)