Mayor Hoffeld and economic development officer Nadja Pastorcic draw a positive conclusion about the launched appeal and the level of solidarity
To support the affected employees of V&B Fliesen GmbH Merzig, which will close later this year, in finding new employment, Mayor Marcus Hoffeld, on behalf of the district town of Merzig, wrote to all Merzig companies belonging to the Economic Council in mid-July and inquired about the extent to which there is a need to take on skilled workers from V&B Fliesen GmbH.
“With this step, we wanted to offer early new job prospects to all employees of V&B Fliesen GmbH who are losing their jobs, in cooperation with our Merzig-based companies,” Hoffeld once again emphasizes the intention of his initiative. His wish that as many employees of V&B Fliesen GmbH as possible remain in our region or in the district town of Merzig is likely being honored to some extent.
The cover letter was followed by newspaper reports and calls on social media, which led to overwhelming solidarity with the affected employees. At the same time, many companies were grateful that the district town of Merzig was also addressing the problem of the skilled labor shortage: “Since our first call, about 50 companies have contacted us, initially only from Merzig, but then also from the entire region. This quickly grew the list to around 280 job openings,” says Pastorcic, who, as the economic promoter, received and processed the applications until August 8, 2022. “280 vacant positions for 280 affected V&B tile employees! In theory, we have thus found a new job prospect for each one,” explains Nadja Pastorcic.
The range of reported job openings is broad: employees in maintenance and warehouse logistics, electricians, production workers, industrial mechanics, welders, or process mechanics, etc. The companies are looking for staff in single, double, and triple shifts, and many offer additional support such as transportation services or assistance in the form of their own retraining or further education programs.
"We submitted our list earlier this week to the managing director and the works council chairman of V&B Fliesen GmbH – for further use – and sincerely hope it has been helpful. Additionally, in discussions with the Employment Agency, we have strived to ensure that employees are offered support for retraining and further education for positions that were reported to us but do not perfectly match their profiles. At this point, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all companies, especially our Merzig businesses, who have supported us in this good and important initiative. Solidarity and cohesion are highly valued in our city, and I am very pleased about that," summarizes Mayor Hoffeld, who wishes the employees and companies the best possible conditions and much success for the future. "As a municipality, we will continue to keep the well-being of our companies and their employees in mind and support them within our means wherever we can," promises Marcus Hoffeld.
