Two million euros for support of dismissed VDL Nedcar employees

Two million euros will be made available to help dismissed employees of car factory VDL Nedcar. The money is intended to guide former employees who have not yet found a new job, the province of Limburg announced.

The largest part of the amount, 1.2 million euros, comes from the European Social Fund, a European fund for subsidies to stimulate employment. The remaining 800,000 euros come from the province of Limburg, municipalities in South Limburg, the benefits agency UWV, and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The car factory in Born laid off around 3,500 people in two rounds, after parent company VDL could not find a new major customer for the assembly of cars. Because the old client BMW terminated the contract with VDL Nedcar, almost all factory jobs disappeared.

The labor market is still tight, especially in technical professions. However, some of the dismissed VDL Nedcar employees could not find a new job. "A number of them have worked for the same company for a long time and are not used to applying for jobs," writes the provincial government. According to deputy Elianne Demollin-Schneiders, they can also not demonstrate all their work experience via diplomas or certificates.

Thanks to the money, they can use an "integrated package of services." This includes orientation towards a new job, advice about it, and training.