1,200 jobs lost due to closure sites glass manufacturer AGP
Glass manufacturer AGP, known in Belgium as Soliver, will close all its Belgian sites by 30 June. Originally, only the site in Rumbeke in West Flanders was set to close, but after the American company XGlass withdrew as a potential buyer, the East Flemish sites in Evergem and Zwijnaarde will close their doors as well. About 1,200 employees will lose their jobs.
Soliver was founded in 1937 and was a Belgian family business for many years until it was taken over by the Peruvian AGP Group in 2018. The AGP Group has been experiencing financial difficulties for some time, and in April it was announced that the Rumbeke site would have to close. The sites in Evergem and Zwijnaarde were to be taken over by the American company XGlass.
XGlass even promised to invest 100 million euros in the factories in East Flanders. This would have allowed 680 of the 1,200 employees to keep their jobs. 400 people in Rumbeke would lose their jobs, while in Evergem and Zwijnaarde originally only 160 jobs would be lost.
However, the American buyer was unable to deliver on its promises, and major clients such as Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi did not want to go along with the new business plan. The planned takeover has therefore failed.
At a special works council meeting on Friday morning, the trade unions were informed that all sites would be closing. A total of about 1,200 employees, including temporary workers, will lose their jobs.
#FlandersNewsService | Production plant of glass manufacturer AGP in Rumbeke © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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