The firm wants to axe 201 out of 453 jobs in Luxembourg, shut down its Dudelange furnace and merge the remaining activities in Dudelange with those in Bascharage.

Economy minister Franz Fayot (LSAP) said in a meeting with union chiefs and Guardian staff delegation members on Monday that the ministry was preparing aid schemes to encourage Guardian to invest in a “new facility that is at the cutting edge of technological and environmental progress and capable of producing high value-added glass, less sensitive to the vagaries of a market impacted by the economic crisis triggered by covid-19.”

Fayot said he was prepared to fly to the US to meet with Guardian Group management to further discuss the group’s long-term industrial activities in Luxembourg.