On Wednesday 15 January 2025, Mylar Specialty Films Luxembourg Sàrl announced its intent to shut down production in Luxembourg and negotiate social plan; about 95 employees will be impacted.
In its statement, the firm said its Luxembourg facility had faced in recent years "significantly diminished competitiveness" and "sustained financial losses due to a combination of continued low demand for PET film in the markets served by this facility and increasing costs". Despite its "significant efforts" to overcome these challenges, the firm said the outlook remained "largely unfavourable".
As such, Mylar Specialty Films said it plans to shut down production in Luxembourg, while remaining "fully committed to the information, consultation and negotiation process around a social plan for impacted employees". This action is expected to impact approximately 95 roles, mostly in production. The firm said it remained "committed to ensuring an orderly process and salary continuation until the expected closure date, and to supporting the impacted employees and their families during this difficult time".
Elaborating on the reasons for financial losses in recent years, Mylar Specialty Films said this was due to "multiple factors", including too high operating costs and external challenges.
The firm said it had met with the staff delegation and unions on Wednesday to inform them of its plans. The firm added that "this outcome is by no means a reflection of the quality of work performed by the Luxembourg Mylar team, or their efforts to support the ongoing operations of the facility".
At the time of writing, the firm said it expects the facility to run until mid-2025 and "intends to ensure an orderly and safe shut down process". The company will also "continue to serve customers with products manufactured at the facility until the expected cease of production".
Unions' reaction
In a separate press release, the LCGB and OGBL trade unions emphasised that 95 out of 112 jobs at the facility will be "eliminated through a social plan" due to this decision. They reiterated their belief that a job retention plan was "the only appropriate decision", for example back in 2023 when the company was known as Dupont Teijin Films. Such a plan "guaranteed adequate supervision and protection of employees in the restructuring process".
The unions lamented that the firm's management appeared to have not "learned any lessons from the situation in 2023". They expressed their deep disappointment over the proposal for a social plan rather than a job retention plan. The latter, they argued, would "allow employees to continue working until production ceases". They added that "various job retention measures could be implemented during the duration of such a plan and allow those affected to reorient themselves".
The LCGB and the OGBL have thus denounced the firm's approach and called for the negotiation of a job retention plan. The unions noted they had requested an "urgent meeting" with Luxembourg's Minister of Labour and the Minister of the Economy, "given the seriousness of the situation", and said they were "counting on [the ministers'] support" to avoid layoffs.
