International Duty Free (IDF), part of Lagardère Travel Retail and exploiting around 30 (duty-free) shops at Belgian airports (Antwerp, Brussels and Charleroi) and one shop at Brussels-South railway station, will collectively make 153 employees redundant as from 1 January next year. The employees learned about their dismissal via a simple e-mail, says trade union ACV Puls.
In addition to the duty-free shops with perfume, clothing and drinks, IDF also operates chocolate shops under the brand The Belgian Chocolate House.
The layoffs are the result of the coronavirus pandemic and the strong decline in passenger numbers. ACV Puls regrets that the company doesn’t give more support than the strictly legal minimum measures. “Any proposal to soften the dismissal or to help soon-to-be dismissed employees were considered ‘too costly’,” ACV Puls said.
On 9 June, IDF announced in a special works council that the collective dismissal procedure would be started. The company was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday, Belgian press agency Belga wrote.
International Duty Free Belgium dismisses around one third of workforce
