The EC is to give €1.8m to a programme aimed at finding employment for 512 people made redundant by NXP. The money comes from the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
"The market for semiconductors, which is highly sensitive to changes in economic growth, has been seriously affected by the change in world trade patterns and the financial and economic crisis", said László Andor, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, "the support that the EGF provides aims to help these workers find a new job as quickly as possible".
The application for the grant came from the Dutch government which argued that the job losses stemmed from changes in trading patterns which saw Europe’s share of the chip industry fall from 14.9% in 2005 to 11.2% in 2009.
The Dutch government also argued that the high value of the Euro against the US$ in 2009 created an additional comparative disadvantage for European manufacturers, because NXP’s costs were incurred in €s and its products sold in $s.
The government also argued that the 25% drop in the semiconductor market in 2009 exacerbated the situation.
Most of the redundancies were at NXP’s Nijmegen fab, and the lack of job opportunities in similar enterprises in the region will be particularly problematic for these workers, with a highly specialised experience in manufacturing.
The EC’s money will provide ‘job-to-job accompaniment, recognition of prior experience and also training and re-training’.
The total estimated cost of the total package is almost € 2.8m, of which the EU is supplying € 1.8m.