Further to European Commission's approval, 1.4 million Euro from the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) will be allocated to provide assistance to Portugal in order to help 680 redundant workers in shoe manufacturing to find new jobs. This decision will help Portugal's manufacturing industry severely affected by global changing patterns.

The Portuguese application relates to 974 redundant workers from shoe manufacturing company Rohde, Sociedade Industrial de Calçado Luso-Alemã, Lda. The company kept a stable position on the market despite the increasing difficulties due to intensified competition mainly from Asia shoe producers. It was, however, affected by the decrease in sales and the reduced capacity to invest, resulting from the financial and economic crisis. This situation, as well as the decreased in orders from the parent company in Germany, led to a situation of insolvency started in September 2010.

The situation faced by the company adds 1,000 workers to the job-seekers both in Santa Maria da Feira and Ovar. These two regions are suffering higher unemployment rates than the country as a whole, in a situation where Portugal has been object of financial assistance in a rescue package allocated by the European Union.

The EGF assistance package for the ex-workers of Rohde will benefit 680 of the 974 workers made redundant. It will include skills recognition, vocational training, grants for training at personal initiative, entrepreneurship training and support to business creation, support to self-placement and hiring incentives. The total estimated cost of this package is 2.23 million Euro, of which the European Globalisation adjustment Fund has been asked to fund 1.44 million Euro.

The European Globalisation Fund has attended 78 applications since the start of its operations in January 2007. The financial help mobilised from the Fund has benefited nearly 76,000 workers representing a total amount of about 355 million Euro. In the scope of the present crisis situation, EGF applications are increasing significantly in a growing number of sectors, and by an increasing number of Member States.