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Job losses at payment processor Worldline could amount to “several hundred jobs” in our country for a total of around 1,400 people. The Christian employees’ union ACV Puls expressed this fear in a press release on Friday.
The management of the French group announced on Wednesday that it wants to cut up to 8 percent of jobs worldwide. The company has 18,000 employees worldwide, so there are potentially more than 1,400 jobs.
It is not yet clear what the impact will be in Belgium. The company only confirmed that the Belgian activities are involved. Worldline employs approximately 1,400 people in Belgium in offices in Evere and Zaventem.
But the unions fear a major impact in our country. If hundreds of jobs were to be disrupted, the Belgian department would be proportionally more affected.
Unannounced restructuring
In a press release, ACV Puls says, among other things, that Belgian management denied restructuring plans in August, despite concerns among the unions. “However, management was very reassuring and emphasized the Belgian anticipatory approach to avoid redundancies at all times, by prioritizing cost reduction and optimizing working methods,” it said. “Now it appears what that plan was: a collective dismissal to boost the share price!”
The green union, and its French-speaking counterpart CNE, now demand transparency about the financial figures and will do everything possible to maximize job retention. “We hope to be able to conclude a social plan that is beneficial for the staff who leave and to obtain guarantees for the staff who stay.”
A staff meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday, February 14.