Marks & Clerk, an international firm specializing in intellectual property, recently announced its intention to carry out massive layoffs affecting 28 of the 30 employees of the group’s Luxembourg branch.
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We are talking here about a removal of 90% of the positions and downright closing the Luxembourg office. The two remaining positions relate to an employee on a fixed -term contract and a senior executive which are not affected by the social plan.
For the OGBL, the pill is struggling to pass. The union deplored an advertisement which was made without prior consultation. “Despite the major consequences for employees and their families, the management of Marks & Clerk LLP refuses to negotiate a just and balanced social plan with the staff delegation”, plague the union in a press release.
Measures claimed
The OGBL recalls that a social plan must be negotiated within 15 days of the notification. “This first period expired on July 22, 2025, without any significant progress having been made,” notes the union. The file was therefore sent to the National Conciliation Office (ONC), and a first meeting took place this Monday.
An inconvenient meeting to believe the union. “The management of Marks & Clerk LLP still shows no desire to modify its position or to seriously engage in the negotiations. In accordance with the procedure, a new period of 15 days has been launched. ”
Concretely, failing agreement by August 19, the employer will be entitled to make the layoffs by applying only the minimum legal conditions, without social plan negotiation.
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Thus, in addition to financial compensation, the OGBL requires a “substantial” budget for training and professional retraining, as well as concrete efforts to reclassify the employees concerned within the group. “These measures are essential, because the employees concerned work in a highly specialized sector, intellectual property, where employment opportunities in Luxembourg are very limited.”
Moreover, the union does not fail to recall that Marks & Clerk LLP made a profit of more than 24 million euros for the financial year 2024, before remuneration of the partners. “This represents an increase of more than 20 % compared to the financial year 2023.”