2023-07-07 09:59:12
Published7. July 2023, 11:59
In Luxembourg: 4,600 jobs at risk, construction faces a “historic crisis”
LUXEMBOURG – The Federation of Craftsmen and the Chamber of Trades took stock on Friday of the crisis affecting the construction sector. A job retention plan is being prepared.
par
Jerome Wiss
Artisans are hit hard by the crisis.
Editpress/Fabrizio Pizzolante
The crisis is worsening for the Luxembourg construction sector, which accounts for 6% of the national GDP, with 4,000 companies and 60,000 employees. This Friday, the Chamber of Trades and the Federation of Craftsmen evoke “a historic crisis which risks having harmful consequences” on the national economy and employment.
Pandemic, war in Ukraine and rising interest rates have hit construction professionals hard, recall the Chamber of Trades and the Federation of Craftsmen in a press release. Consequence: over one year, sales of new apartments collapsed by 72% in the first quarter and the authorized built volume fell by 33%, to its lowest level since 1987.
“The sector estimates that this reduction corresponds to 1,500 housing units, which will have a massive impact on the turnover of the sector”, according to the press release.
The temporary workers, the first affected
And “a shock will follow on employment”. In an attempt to prevent this, the Federation of Construction Contractors and the Groupement des Entrepreneurs contacted the unions to sign a sectoral job retention plan “in the interest of employees, in case the situation deteriorates further following the collective holidays”. The job retention plan is a tool to try to avoid social plans and layoffs, by anticipating situations.
In construction, “at this stage, the downsizing concerns above all temporary workers” but, “ultimately, 4,600 jobs are likely to be affected”, according to the press release, which also mentions an impact on public finances. Indeed, with the crisis, fewer taxes are likely to enter the coffers of the State, which will have to pay to pay for unemployment. Estimated cost: 300 million euros for 2023, not to mention that the country, where housing is already lacking, risks losing attractiveness.
Craft organizations also insist on the fact that “it is not the promoters who bear the brunt of this crisis, but the thousands of craft businesses which employ an average of 12 employees”.
A call to municipalities and the government
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