FB Groupe, which operates in the construction sector and specialises in the manufacture of prefabricated concrete slabs, is the subject of a new redundancy plan signed on 29 January. The plan will result in the redundancy of around 15 employees. The previous redundancy plan, implemented in 2024, led to the redundancy of around 20 employees. At that time, the company employed 80 people.
This news from the OGBL trade union illustrates once again the “worrying” situation facing the construction sector. According to Creditreform, following a 43.52% rise in 2023.
“According to management, the deterioration in the company’s economic situation since the last redundancy plan was the main factor behind its decision to restructure FB Groupe,” reports the OGBL in a press release issued on 5 February.
FB Groupe’s accounts, as published in the Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR), show a deficit of €1.62m for 2023, despite a gross profit of €3.57m and sales of €11.8m. They also reported 85 employees that year. At 31 December 2023, it had debts of €7.4m. Its 2024 accounts have not yet been published. Contacted by Paperjam, the management of FB Groupe had not yet responded to our request at the time of publication of this article.
According to the OGBL, at least 15 employees will be made redundant, and “at least three should be offered a new employment contract, with retention of seniority and without a trial period, in a construction company belonging to the group, recently set up in Luxembourg,” states the OGBL.
An entity called “Willy Naessens Luxembourg,” located like FB Groupe on the Um Monkeler industrial estate in Schifflange, was set up in Luxembourg on 1 January 2024, with the object of “constructing residential and non-residential buildings,” according to the business registry.
Founded more than 40 years ago, FB Groupe, formerly Echolux, was acquired in 2021 by the Belgian group Willy Naeessens. This acquisition was part of Willy Naessens’ vertical integration strategy to increase its capacity. There was even talk of building a new factory.
Thirty jobs preserved
Around 30 employees are expected to keep their jobs. For the others, they will each receive “an extra-legal severance payment, based on the seniority steps of the legal severance pay, with the minimum step corresponding to €3,500--the severance pay will be capped at 12,000 euros. The employees concerned will be released from their work duties during their notice period. They will be guaranteed their full pay in lieu of notice, even if they sign a new employment contract with a new employer. A training bonus is also part of the extra-legal benefits negotiated for redundant employees. The Willy Naessens Group has assured the unions that this restructuring will enable the contracts of the thirty or so employees who will remain in post to be maintained,” explains the OGBL in its press release.
This article was originally published in .