The Austrian company Liebherr has faced a setback as its application for short-time work for 960 employees at its Lienz facility in East Tyrol has been rejected by the Labor Market Service (AMS).

The company had cited a significant decline in the refrigerator market post-COVID-19 as the reason for the request.

Despite expectations of market recovery in early 2025 with new production lines, the AMS stated that short-time work is intended for unforeseen events and not for cyclical fluctuations.

The AMS leader emphasized that Liebherr did not sufficiently demonstrate that its economic issues would be resolved by year-end.

In response to the rejection, Liebherr plans to implement "capacity adjustment measures" and seek alternative solutions, though the specifics and potential job impacts remain unclear.