Brussels, 14/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 13 December 2007, the European Commission approved an application from Malta for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). The application will now be sent to the European Parliament and Council for decision. The funding will help 675 redundant workers in the textiles sector back into employment. It is the fifth application for financial assistance from the Fund to be put forward by the Commission.
The application came after two Maltese textiles manufacturing companies - VF and Bortex -unexpectedly closed all or part of their operations in Malta. VF, part of the multinational VF Corporation, closed its factory in Malta in July 2007 with 562 redundancies, while Bortex decided to close down part of its Maltese operation in September, resulting in 113 job losses. With its small labour market, the redundancies represent 0.4 % of Malta's active population. Despite trends in the EU clothing industry towards relocation to lower cost countries like China, India and Turkey, the redundancies were nevertheless unexpected as both companies had recently invested in their Maltese production sites and human resources. The total estimated cost of the package of assistance is €1.3 million, of which the European Commission has been asked to provide €681,207. (O.L.)