Restructuring in an enlarged Europe: challenges and experiences

Abstract

This article presents historical and aggregate data on restructuring in central and eastern Europe, and some examples from multinationals in Poland and Hungary. It shows how the violent structural readjustment process of the 1990s has left important social, political and psychological legacies which affect current approaches to restructuring. The new EU Member States, faced with relocations both to the west (in capital-intensive industries) and further east (in low-skill labour-intensive industries), therefore need employee participation mechanisms, cross-border information and western solidarity to ensure the social acceptability of change.

Cet article présente des données historiques et globales sur la restructuration de l'Europe centrale et orientale et quelques exemples de restructuration dans les multinationales en Pologne et en Hongrie. Il montre comment le processus structurel brutal de la réforme des années 90 a laissé un héritage social, politique et psychologique important qui influence l'approche actuelle de la restructuration. Les nouveaux Etats membres de l'UE, confrontés aux relocalisations à la fois à l'Ouest (dans des industries capitalistiques) et ensuite à l'Est (dans des industries à forte intensité de main-d'oeuvre peu qualifiée), ont donc besoin de mécanismes de participation des travailleurs, d'informations transfrontalières et de solidarité occidentale pour garantir l'acceptabilité sociale du changement.

Dieser Beitrag präsentiert allgemeine und historische Fakten zur Umstrukturierung in Mittel- und Osteuropa sowie Beispiele für Umstrukturierungen multinationaler Unternehmen in Polen und Ungarn. Er beschreibt die schweren sozialen, politischen und psychologischen Folgen des gewaltsamen strukturellen Anpassungsprozesses der 90er Jahre, welche die heutige Einstellung zu Umstrukturierungen prägen. Für die neuen EU-Mitgliedstaaten stellt sich das Problem der Verlagerung sowohl in Richtung Westen (kapitalintensive Industrien) als auch noch weiter östlich (gering qualifizierte und arbeitsintensive Industrien). Daher benötigen diese Länder Verfahren für die Arbeitnehmerbeteiligung, aber auch grenzübergreifende Informationen und die Solidarität der westeuropäischen Länder, um die soziale Akzeptabilität des Wandels sicherzustellen.

Keywords

restructuring central and eastern Europe employee participation post communism relocation employment

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