“This isn’t a good sign.” The car factory’s management and unions are trying to find a solution to avoid laying off 2,600 workers, after the announcement, in January, of the closing of Opel’s Antwerp factory. Thus, they negotiated an agreement providing for the possibility for 641 workers to retire early. About 300 of them are between 50 and 52. Employers say “this isn’t a good sign.” “Considering early retirement at 50 while the current priority is to work longer is a contradiction: we have to lower access to early retirement systems, or even completely remove them, because they get workers out of the labor market too soon” explained Peter Timmermans, General Director of the FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium).
ile the current priority is to work longer is a contradiction: we have to lower access to early retirement systems, or even completely remove them, because they get workers out of the labor market too soon” explained Peter Timmermans, General Director of the FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium).
“Early pensioners are 50-100% cheaper than jobseekers.” Unions say that the reason why employers are angry is the supplement they have to give to early retirees. “The FEB is always pointing to the
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