Navigation firm TomTom to cut fifty-one jobs in Ghent, Belgium

Digital navigation company TomTom is cutting 500 jobs worldwide, the Dutch company announced on Wednesday. In its Belgian branch in Ghent, 51 out of 260 jobs are on the line.

The 260 job cuts would amount to around a tenth of Tomtom's global workforce. The jobs are disappearing in its mapmaking department. The company is focusing more on automation in the design of maps, with job losses as a result.

TomTom has a significant operation in Ghent, Belgium. The intention to cut 51 out of 260 jobs in Ghent was announced at a special works council meeting, says Els De Coster, secretary of the liberal trade union ACLVB.

According to the union secretary, the restructuring was also prompted by the rapidly changing market in which TomTom operates and the weak car market. The company, whose clients range from Volkswagen and Renault to Microsoft, has been hit by pandemic-caused supply chain shortages which forced automakers around the globe to slash production.

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© PASCAL PAVANI / AFP