Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Physik Instrumente (PI), a German high-tech company specialising in precision positioning systems for the semiconductor, medical technology, photonics and research sectors, has announced the elimination of approximately 100 positions in Karlsruhe. A further 90 job cuts are expected due to the closure of its subsidiary IBS, an engineering and design services company specialising in development and construction support.
This decision marks a sudden departure from recent growth trends and investments by the company, which had previously maintained an optimistic outlook. The cuts result from changing market conditions, declining demand in several business segments and increasing international competitive pressure prompting PI to streamline its operations and eliminate overlapping functions across the organisation.
While the specific details of a social plan have not yet been made public, the restructuring process is being conducted in coordination with the works council.
Physik Instrumente employs around 510 people in Karlsruhe, while IBS had a workforce of approximately 90 employees.
Eurofound (2026), Physik Instrumente, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 300830, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/300830.
Eurofound’s ERM restructuring legislation database offers an overview of key restructuring-related regulations in the EU Member States and Norway. Its content is continuously updated to reflect any changes made by national legislators in response to, for instance, policy shifts, legal...
Can Europe still achieve its ambitions for battery manufacturing? To answer this, the article looks at data from Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor and explores what recent large-scale restructuring events reveal about the state of play in the EU battery sector.
This working paper offers a comprehensive methodological overview of the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) databases. Even though the methodology has not changed over time, new categories have been added, and the way it has been used by researchers and policymakers...
This Eurofound research paper explores key trends in restructuring in recent years, highlighting the companies that announced the largest job losses and job gains in the EU. It builds on an analysis of company announcements recorded in Eurofound’s European Restructuring...
In 2023, thousands of workers in big tech lost their jobs. Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce had been considered to offer good and secure jobs up to this point. Giants of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector,...
In 2024, the automotive sector in the EU came to the fore in public and policy discussions. The focus was on the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, rising global competition, belated investments in new technologies, and the potential closure...
