Not all staff are likely to receive full severance pay at Tupperware General Services, the smaller Belgian division that develops plastic items, according to union sources.
While the 270 workers at the Tupperware factory in Aalst (East Flanders) will be able to claim their severance check from a receiver selling off company assets, the smaller division with some 50 staff and managers has few assets. The premises of the Tupperware General Services are also rented.
On Monday, local management informed unions that Tupperware's US headquarters had agreed to the bankruptcy of its Belgian sites. Until then, the American HQ had made no comments about the Belgian operations.
Last year, the manufacturing and sales licences for plastic products were revoked in Aalst. The factory could no longer operate, but the local management's concerns were not addressed by the US executives at the time.
Unions are now set to negotiate the severance packages. However, staff at Tupperware General Services will only find out more about the funds available for severance payments after the liquidation.
Staff members can seek assistance from the Fund for Enterprise Closure of the National Employment Office, though severance pay there is capped.
