The world seemed to come to an end for our animated factory worker when his company closed down due to stiff competition from abroad, but could the EU lend him a hand?

How it works: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund

Brian has been making  vacuum cleaners for years.

One day a new vacuum cleaner factory  is opened on the other side of the planet.

Labour is considerably cheaper  over there.

Due to trade globalisation,  the new, cheap vacuum cleaners

Very quickly,  Brian's factory goes bankrupt.

Out of work, Brian wonders  what else he could do.

Retrain as something else?  OK, but in what area and how?

In his case, Europe has provided  for a solidarity mechanism,

the European Globalisation  Adjustment Fund.

The fund supports the reintegration  of European workers

laid off for a reason  directly linked to globalisation:

a company relocating  to another country,

or even a company losing market share  in its sector of activity.

The fund has a maximum of  500 million euros available each year.

It only intervenes when a Member State  specifically requests it to.

Subject to exceptions, there is  a whole series of criteria to meet.

must affect at least  500 direct or indirect employees.

Good news for Brian. His country  has obtained several million euros.

For two years, this money  will finance individual measures

to help Brian and his colleagues  find new jobs,

such as individual coaching,  professional retraining,

or even aid to start their own businesses.

It's not a 100% guarantee  that they will find new jobs,

but for Brian it's allowed him  to make a fresh start.