FEAG Liberty Steel Belgium 2026: What It Means for Steel Companies

Key data

Workers laid off by Liberty Steel in Belgium will receive support co-financed by the EU through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. The European Parliament and Council approved this mobilisation through Decision (EU) 2026/1134, adopted on 29 April 2026 and published in the EU Official Journal on 21 May 2026.

The file supporting this decision is EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty, submitted by Belgium. The code confirms that the layoffs are linked to structural changes in world trade or globalisation, which is precisely the criterion that activates the EGF.

For managers and HR directors of steel or manufacturing companies in Spain, this decision is not just news about Belgium: it is a roadmap of what can happen and the tools available if your company faces a large-scale restructuring.

What does this regulation establish?

Decision (EU) 2026/1134 authorises the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Dismissed Workers (EGF) in response to the request submitted by Belgium. The EGF is an EU instrument that complements national employment policies when large restructurings occur due to globalisation or structural changes in world trade.

The measures financed by the EGF in this case include:

• Vocational training adapted to the current labour market
• Individualised career guidance for affected workers
• Direct job search assistance

The EGF does not replace the company's obligations or national unemployment benefits: it acts as an additional layer of European co-financing to accelerate the reintegration of laid-off workers into the labour market.

Economic and operational impact

For companies, the EGF has two relevant economic and operational readings:

1. As a tool in restructurings: If a Spanish company in the steel or manufacturing sector faces mass layoffs linked to globalisation, the Spanish State can request the activation of the EGF. This means that part of the social cost of the restructuring—training, guidance, employment assistance—can be co-financed by the EU, reducing pressure on national public coffers and, in some models, on the social plans negotiated with unions.

2. As a sectoral precedent: The approval of file EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty demonstrates that the EU recognises the impact of globalisation on the steel sector as an eligible cause for the EGF. This recognition is transferable to equivalent situations in Spain.

The EGF complements—not replaces—national employment policies. Its activation requires a formal request from the affected Member State to the European Commission, which must subsequently be approved by the European Parliament and Council, as has occurred in this case.

Who does it affect?

• Workers laid off by Liberty Steel in Belgium: are the direct beneficiaries of the measures co-financed by the EGF in this file.
• Spanish steel companies: should be aware of this precedent as a reference in the event of their own restructurings.
• Manufacturing companies with exposure to globalisation: the EGF eligibility criterion (structural changes in world trade) can apply to other industrial sectors.
• HR directors and labour relations managers: in companies at risk of restructuring, knowing about the EGF allows anticipating available tools in social plans.
• CFOs and financial directors: European co-financing can affect the sizing of the costs of a collective redundancy or restructuring.
• EU employment policy managers and public administrations: are the direct interlocutors in the process of requesting and managing the EGF.

Practical example

Imagine a Spanish steel company with a plant in an industrial region that, faced with loss of competitiveness due to low-cost steel imports, decides to close a production line and lay off 300 workers.

If the company and the Spanish Government can prove that these layoffs are linked to structural changes in world trade—the same criterion applied by Belgium in file EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty—Spain could submit a request to activate the EGF to the European Commission.

If approved, the laid-off workers would have access to measures co-financed by the EU: vocational training, career guidance and job search assistance. The Belgian precedent, now formalised through Decision (EU) 2026/1134, strengthens the viability of this type of request for the steel sector.

For the company, this does not eliminate its legal obligations in the collective redundancy, but it can improve the content of the social plan by incorporating additional European resources that the State can channel to the affected workers.

What should companies do now?

1. Assess whether your sector has exposure to globalisation: The EGF is activated when layoffs are linked to structural changes in world trade. If your company operates in steel, heavy manufacturing or other sectors with intense international competition, this criterion may apply.
2. Document the competitive context of your activity: In the event of future restructuring, having analysis on the impact of globalisation on your sector facilitates the justification of an EGF request to Spanish authorities.
3. Contact the Ministry of Labour if you face a significant restructuring: The EGF request is submitted by the Member State, not by the company directly. The first step is to inform national labour authorities of the situation so they can assess eligibility.
4. Incorporate the EGF as a tool in social plan negotiations: If your company is in a collective redundancy process, inform worker representatives of the existence of the EGF and its potential to enrich the social plan with European resources.
5. Monitor the evolution of EGF files in the steel sector: File EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty is the most recently approved. Monitoring new files allows anticipating trends and updated eligibility criteria.