However, partial unemployment is planned for some employees. Last week, the tyre manufacturer announced plans to cut 500 jobs worldwide due to the economic crisis.

The initial press release issued by Goodyear did not specify whether the job cuts would affect Luxembourg employees. Now, RTL sources say the manufacturer has no official plans to make staff redundant in the Grand Duchy.

The OGBL and LCGB unions said they had not been informed of potential layoffs by management, which is a compulsory procedure required by law to allow union negotiations to take place.

The Ministry of the Economy announced they were unaware of redundancy plans in Luxembourg following an interview with Goodyear officials earlier this week.

However, the manufacturer intends to slow down research and development activities, and is considering partial unemployment for some staff members.

The ministry said this request had been accepted "in principle" when asked by RTL.

The OGBL estimated that around a hundred Goodyear employees in Luxembourg would be affected by this measure.