The Belgian subsidiary of payment company Ingenico announced the launch of a collective redundancy procedure on Friday. Trade union CNE says almost 75% of staff face dismissal.
Ingenico was sold by Worldline to Apollo 9 in 2022 and became a subcontractor for the former. However, financial difficulties accompanied by a "significant drop" in billable activities from Worldline have prompted the forthcoming dismissals.
CNE regrets that Belgian employees do not benefit from the same guarantees as their French counterparts when the 2022 sale occurred. However, the union says it is attempting to implement better job security here.
"Belgian management [...] constantly downplayed the risks identified, which, in their view, were unfounded, and told us that the best job security lay in the skills of the workers and in the continuity of the projects in progress," it stated. "Now we see the consequences of this lack of foresight."
The union added that it would do everything in its power to "resist the destruction of jobs" and will demand the best possible severance packages for those affected by the cuts.
