The European Commission has proposed €2 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support 803 workers dismissed after the bankruptcy of Belgian car-glass manufacturer Soliver.
The European Commission has proposed mobilising €2 million in EU funding to support more than 800 workers dismissed in Belgium after the bankruptcy of car-glass manufacturer Soliver.
The proposal, published on 30 April, would use the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers to assist 803 former Soliver employees. The funding is intended to help affected workers return to the labour market through counselling, job-search support, training and recruitment measures.
Soliver, a Belgian manufacturer of car glass, was declared bankrupt on 1 July 2025. Belgian authorities began supporting the affected workers in June 2025, shortly before the bankruptcy was formalised. Under the proposed EU support package, some of those costs may be covered retroactively.
The Commission’s proposal says the measures will include career counselling and guidance, job-search assistance, training in new professional and transferable skills, and recruitment events. The aim is to improve workers’ chances of finding new employment after the closure of the company.
The total estimated cost of the support measures is €2.5 million. The EU would cover 85 per cent of that amount through the EGF, with the remaining 15 per cent funded by Flemish public employment services. The package still requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council before the money can be released.
The EGF is designed to support workers and self-employed people who lose their jobs as a result of major restructuring events. It does not replace national social-security systems or unemployment benefits. Instead, it finances targeted active labour-market measures intended to help displaced workers move into new employment.
For Belgium, the Soliver case is another example of industrial and manufacturing pressure affecting regional labour markets. The closure follows a series of restructuring cases in sectors exposed to changes in supply chains, energy costs, international competition and shifts in demand. In this case, the support is focused on workers in Flanders affected by the bankruptcy of a specialised automotive supplier.
The automotive supply chain has been under pressure across Europe as manufacturers adapt to changing vehicle production, electrification, cost pressures and weaker demand in some segments. Suppliers are often exposed to those changes earlier than final vehicle manufacturers, particularly where production depends on a limited number of customers or contracts.
The Commission proposal does not by itself determine the future of the affected workers. Its practical value will depend on how quickly the measures are implemented and whether training, counselling and recruitment support match available jobs in the regional labour market. The role of the Flemish public employment services will therefore be central to the effectiveness of the package.
The case also illustrates the way the EGF is used. It is not intended as a rescue instrument for failing companies. The money is directed towards workers after redundancy, with an emphasis on employability, skills and transition into new jobs. Support can include personalised guidance, job-search assistance, training, entrepreneurship support and other measures linked to labour-market reintegration.
The proposed Belgian package follows other recent uses of the fund in response to redundancies in European industry. The instrument remains relatively small compared with national employment systems, but it provides a visible EU-level response in cases where company closures or restructuring lead to concentrated job losses.
Approval is now required from both arms of the EU budgetary authority. The proposal needs a simple majority in Parliament and a qualified majority in the Council. If approved, the funding will reimburse part of the costs already incurred by Belgian authorities and support the continuation of assistance to the former Soliver workers.
For Brussels, the proposal is a modest but concrete labour-market intervention. It will not reverse the bankruptcy of Soliver or remove the wider pressures on industrial employment. It does, however, provide targeted EU support for workers affected by a specific company collapse and places the case within the Union’s broader framework for managing the social consequences of restructuring.
