EU approves €900k support for BelGaN workers
The European Parliament has approved more than €900,000 euros in EU aid to help former employees of GaN chipmaker BelGaN in Oudenaarde, Belgium find new jobs.
The company closed last year with the loss of 417 jobs due to pressure from rising energy, material, and labour costs. The EU funding will help the laid-off workers with counselling, vocational orientation, skills training and the search for new jobs.
While BelGan has been described as Belgium's last industrial chip manufacturer, in August this year, Belgian firm Thema Foundries revealed it had bought the clean rooms at the Oudenaarde site. It is set to establish a "full-fledged production and service centre for integrated photonics" with an investment of more than €200 million.
MEP Kathleen Van Brempt said that Europe must do more to help companies remain competitive: “Many firms are under immense pressure. Workers fear for their jobs as investments are postponed and global competition from China and the US intensifies.”
