What changed

A. whereas the Union has set up legislative and budgetary instruments to provide additional support to workers who are suffering from the consequences of major structural events and changes in world trade patterns or who are affected by imminent job displacementindisplacement in enterprises undergoing restructuring, and to assist their rapid, decent and sustainable reintegration into the labour market or their career transitions;transitions also by providing training to better equip workers with skills aligned to the labour market needs; whereas this assistance is made through a financial support given to workers;

B. whereas the EGF is an instrument of solidarity and just transition and while it provides support following job losses, it cannot replace structural economic and social policies that sustain economic growth, promote a stable, predictable, innovation-friendly business environment, and protect Union enterprises, economic operators and their workers;

D.E. whereas Valmet,Valmet Automotive, a contract manufacturer of the automobile industry, has always been dependent on fixed-term contracts with large car manufacturers, and therefore subject to business fluctuations; whereas high energy and manufacturing costs compared with global competitors have put additional pressure on European competitiveness in different industry sectors as the defence, automotive and other sectors that need high-technology solutions for European production; whereas Valmet Automotive had to gradually reduce its personnel, from just under 3 200 in the early 2020’s to approximately 1 300 before the latest redundancies;

G. whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into the labour market or support their career transitions while offering them skills training to facilitate their reintegration and develop and strengthen digital skills;

H. whereas strong and competitive businesses are essential to sustain high-quality jobs, drive economic growth, promote territorial, economic and social cohesion, and reinforce Europe’s strategic resilience;

I. whereas financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment or support their career transitions while offering them skills training to facilitate their reintegration and develop and strengthen digital skills;

J. whereas the take up of the EGF remains limited and geographically uneven across the Union; whereas several Member States have not yet used the Fund, despite experiencing restructuring and job losses; whereas greater awareness, appropriate legislative framework and earlier coordination with social partners , as well as enhanced technical assistance for national and regional authorities are needed to ensure visibility and timely and effective access to the EGF for eligible workers and regions affected by major restructuring events;

3. Notes that the application relates to 260 displacedtargeted workersbeneficiaries whosewho activitywere ceasedmade inredundant by Valmet Automotive and five subcontractors and suppliers; notes further that 233 displaced workers, residing in Länsi-Suomi, will be targeted beneficiaries;

4. Takes note that Valmet,Valmet Automotive has struggled to adapt to market changes and has had to gradually reduce its personnel since the early 2020’s; takes note that after the end of its last contract the factory no longer had any orders, forcing it to new staff reductions resulting in the dismissal of 235 workers and the temporary lay-off of 860 workers; regrets that the recent lay-offs and redundancies at Valmet led to an increase of the unemployment rate in Länsi-Suomi by nearly 15% from 2024 to 2025 reaching 12,3% in December 2025 with long-term unemployment reaching its highest level in history, up 39% from 2024; highlights the need to prevent structural regional decline and to create high-quality, future-oriented jobs in order to strengthen long-term economic and social resilience; stresses the need for policies that foster sustainable industrial transition ensuring competitiveness, territorial, social and economic cohesion and regional development;

5. Takes note that 95% of the displaced workers have an educational attainment of post-secondary level or lower, with 27,5% being aged over 54; emphasizes that unemployment risk strongly correlates with age and education level;level, meaning that the most of the beneficiaries face greater barriers to re-entering the labour market; calls on the Finnish authorities to take measures to address social disparities and structural barriers leading to exclusion of work force, such as low level of education and age; welcomes that Valmet Automotive has signed a multi-year agreement covering the manufacturing of armoured vehicles potentially allowing for the re-hiring of a considerable portion of its displaced workers while hopefully others could also find employment in the maritime industry in the city of Turku in the future; underlines the need to provide specific support tailored to the needs and profiles of workers with lower levels of education;

6. Recalls that, in agreementconsultation with targetedexperts beneficiaries,and theirin representativesagreement andwith social partners, personalised services to be provided to the displaced workers consist of the following measures: job-seeking training; job and career coaching; vocational training; occupational safety and competence cards; language training; start-up grants; incentives and allowances; stresses that trade union representatives should be involved throughout the entire implementation of the EGF measures, including the monitoring and evaluation phase, to ensure the quality and relevance of the support offered to beneficiaries; highlights the importance of ensuring that training and requalification measures respond to concrete labour market needs, facilitate the rapid reintegration of displaced workers and prevent long-term unemployment including for older workers;

7. Stresses that the Finnish authorities shall ensure the visibility of the Union funding and highlight its added value by providing effectiveeffective, clear, timely and targeted information to beneficiaries, regional and local authorities, social partners, and the wider public; underlines that the EGF is a concrete expression of European solidarity and just transition demonstrating that the European Union stands with workers and communities affected by major economic and structural change; stresses that communicating the tangible benefits of EGF support is essential to strengthening citizens’ confidence in the European project and in the Union’s capacity to protect workers during economic transitions;

8. Calls for thorough final evaluations of the measures implemented, including clear information on how the funds have been used, on the success of the reintegrating of workers into the labour market, and whether the measures have achieved the objectives for which the EGF was created; stresses the need to have the tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the measures financed including as regards their capacity to ensure that EGF funding effectively contributes to the rapid and sustainable reintegration of beneficiaries into quality employment;

11. Reiterates that assistance from the EGF must not replace actions that are the responsibility of public authorities or companies under national law or collective agreements; recalls that the EGF is a limited, targeted and complementary mechanism; emphasises the importance of fostering high-quality, future-oriented jobs to ensure long-term economic and social resilience; considers therefore that the mobilisation of the EGF needs to be embedded in a larger policy response on all political levels to ensure that the workers affected find adequate opportunities in line with their qualifications and skills;

12. Underlines that the European automotive industry is of strategic importance to the Union’s industrial base and provides employment to millions of workers across Member States; stresses that the European response to the transformation of the sector should combine competitiveness and industrial investment with strong social protection and just transition; calls on the Commission to ensure that existing and future Union instruments are used in a targeted and complementary manner to support workers affected by restructuring, reskilling and transitions across the automotive value chain;

LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Mr Johan Van Overtveldt

Chair

Committee on Budgets

BRUSSELS

Subject: Opinion on Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Finland — EGF/2026/003 FI/Valmet Automotive (2026/0220(BUD))

Dear Mr Chair,

Under the procedure referred to above, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has been asked to submit an opinion to your committee and decided to send the opinion in the form of a letter.

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs considered the matter, and, at its meeting of 10 September 2026, it decided to submit the opinion set out below to the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible.

Yours sincerely,

Li Andersson

OPINION

A. Whereas, on 5 May 2026, Finland submitted an application EGF/2026/003 FI/Valmet Automotive for a financial contribution from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), following displacements in Valmet Automotive and five subcontractors and suppliers in Finland; whereas the primary enterprise operates in the economic sector classified under the NACE Revision 2 division 29 (Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers),where the redundancies are located in the NUTS 2 region of Länsi-Suomi (FI19);

B. Whereas Finland submitted the application under the intervention criteria of Article 4(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/691, which requires the cessation of activity of at least 200 displaced workers over a reference period of four months (in this case, from 2 December 2025 to 2 April 2026) in an enterprise in a Member State, including workers displaced in suppliers and downstream producers; whereas, following its assessment of this application, the Commission has concluded, in accordance with all applicable provisions of the EGF Regulation, that the conditions for awarding a financial contribution from the EGF are met;

C. Whereas the total number of eligible beneficiaries is 260, whose activity has ceased in the economic sectors indicated above; whereas the application relates to 239 displaced workers whose activity has ceased in Valmet Automotive and one of its suppliers;

D. Whereas on 24 July 2026 the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision on the mobilisation of the EGF in favour of Finland to support the reintegration in the labour market of 239 targeted beneficiaries;

E. Whereas the financial situation and employment in Valmet Automotive, a contract manufacturer of the automobile industry, has always been dependent on fixed-term contracts with large car manufacturers, and therefore, subject to fluctuations; whereas, due to the global downturn in the automobile industry that has continued for several years, the company has run into difficulties and has had to gradually reduce its personnel, from just under 3 200 in the early 2020’s to approximately 1 300 before the latest redundancies; whereas, after the end of the two-model contract with Mercedes-Benz in 2025, the factory no longer had any orders, forcing it to new staff reductions; whereas, in the co-operation negotiations in November 2025, the company announced that it would dismiss a maximum of 235 people and temporarily lay-off 860 people; whereas the company's difficult situation has naturally also affected the entire subcontracting chain;

F. Whereas the new large-scale lay-offs and redundancies at the Valmet Automotive Uusikaupunki car factory, by far the region’s largest employer, have hit hard the entire region; whereas strong dependence on the car plant in the Vakka-Suomi sub-region poses significant challenges to the already difficult situation in the region; whereas the unemployment rate in Vakka-Suomi rose to 12,2 % in December 2025, 1,7 percentage points higher than year before; whereas among young jobseekers (under 25 years of age), the unemployment rate reached 17,3 %, an increase of 4,2 percentage points year-on-year;

G. Whereas Valmet Automotive has sought to expand its operations into new fields, whereas it has signed a letter of intent with Patria, Finland’s leading defence technology company, and received a small order for the assembly of armoured vehicles; whereas, if Valmet Automotive is successful in its transition to defence and security technology, the company may be able to re-hire a considerable portion of its displaced employees; whereas it is therefore essential for both the company and the Uusikaupunki region to maintain the working capacity of these persons and to keep them and their families in the region; whereas this is especially important for the immigrant workers on work-related residency permit;

H. Whereas Finland has indicated that the co-ordinated package of personalised services has been drawn up in consultation with the social partners, in compliance with Article 7(4) of the EGF Regulation;

I. Whereas the EGF shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 30 million (in 2018 prices), as laid down in Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027;

Therefore, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to integrate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1. Recalls that the objective of the EGF is to demonstrate solidarity with, and provide support to beneficiaries; considers that financial contributions from the EGF should be primarily directed at active labour market policy measures and personalised services that aim to reintegrate beneficiaries rapidly into decent and sustainable employment within or outside their initial sector of activity; stresses the importance of preparing and supporting workers for the urgently needed green and digital transitions of the European economy and society; reiterates in this context the important role the Union plays, including through the EGF, in contributing to the financing of necessary qualifications for the just transition in line with the European Green Deal;

2. Agrees with the Commission that the conditions set out in Article 4(2)(a) of the EGF Regulation are met and that Finland is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 410 310 under that Regulation, which represents 60 % of the total cost of EUR 683 850, comprising expenditure for personalised services of EUR 663 850 and expenditure for preparatory, management, information and publicity, control and reporting activities of EUR 20 000;

3. Notes the fact that Finland has provided all necessary assurances that the requirements laid down in national and EU legislation concerning collective redundancies have been complied with and that the principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination will be respected in access to the proposed measures and their implementation;

4. Stresses that Finland has confirmed that the measures supported by the EGF will not receive any financial contributions from other Union financial instruments;

5. Notes that personalised services to be provided to the workers consist of the following measures: (a) job-seeking training, (b) job and career coaching, (c) vocational training, (d) occupational safety and competence cards, (e) language training, (f) start-up grant, and (i) incentives and allowances;

6. Stresses in particular the importance of Article 7(2) of the EGF Regulation, which requires the coordinated package to anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills, which are compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy and with a particular focus on the dissemination of skills required in the digital industrial age; welcomes the fact the ICT training and additional support are foreseen within vocational guidance services and some of the trainings on offer and related allowances cater for the dissemination of the skills required in the digital industrial age and in a resource-efficient economy;

7. Recalls the possibility for special time-limited measures within the coordinated package including, inter alia, to pay childcare allowances, as provided in Article 7(2)(b) of the EGF regulation to facilitate job seekers’ participation in the activities proposed.