AGC Glass Europe announced intentions to close two automotive glass plants in Europe; its Wegberg Plant located in Germany, and its Fleurus plant, located in Belgium.
Wegberg Plant
The closure will affect 84 employees within the next two years. The decision to close the plant is based on the amount of continued pressure the automotive market has been under, compounded by factors like uncertainty about engine technology, new competitors emergence, Chinese importations, the Covid pandemic, semiconductors, energy and raw material price crises, say officials.
Fleurus Plant
The closure will affect 187 workers. The company is considering a gradual shutdown over the next year. AGC Glass cites similar reasons for closing the plant. “In an unstable and deeply evolving automotive market, the profitability of the windscreen business has been affected for several years now by a strong and worldwide competition between glass manufacturers and by the products’ technological evolutions. Almost two years ago, the Group's difficulties in saturating its laminated glass production lines were exacerbated by the Covid crisis and the ongoing semiconductor crisis. Even more recently, there has been a dramatic increase in energy and raw material costs.”
