1 June 2026 – A major European home appliance manufacturer plans to cut more than 1,700 jobs in Italy, in addition to plant closures in Hungary by the end of 2026 – the background: excessively high production costs in Europe, including due to CBAM, tariffs and inflated steel prices. Base metals in Asia and Europe are starting the week calmly.
Base Metals Start the Week Calmly
Asian base metals started the week with stable sideways movement. On the LME, aluminum, nickel, and copper also showed a friendly start to trading, with slight gains.
Already on Friday, nickel had continued its upward trend and closed trading at more than USD 19,000 per tonne, with an increase of just under 2% compared with the previous week.
CBAM and Tariffs: Home Appliance Manufacturer Plans to Cut More Than 1,700 Jobs
A major European home appliance manufacturer had already announced in mid-May that it wanted to cut around 1,700 jobs in Italy – in addition to the two plant closures already planned in Hungary by the end of 2026.
High Production Costs Due to CBAM and Tariffs
One of the most serious reasons cited by the group for this significant job reduction is Europe’s far too high production costs, which are made up, among other things, of energy costs, EU ETS, CBAM taxes, and European steel prices that are already much too high.
The sharply increased prices are also reflected in the purchasing behaviour of European customers, who are now necessarily turning more towards cheaper products. Together with the decline in construction activity, overall demand for home appliances in Europe is stagnating.
EU Commission Is Responsible for High Costs
The group has thus provided the textbook example of what threatens many metal-processing sectors through the simultaneous application of the CO2 tax CBAM and European steel tariffs: company losses and job losses due to excessive costs. The competitive disadvantages are already present everywhere and are being further intensified by the European Union’s blind activism.
At present, the Commission’s measures are only creating an artificially elevated price level that cannot possibly lead to greater demand – because European citizens will be able to afford less and less as a result of this Brussels-imposed inflation.
German FDP: Make Trade Free Again?
Germany’s FDP, which elected Wolfgang Kubicki as its new party chairman over the weekend, has for several years, at least outwardly, stood behind its campaign “Make Trade Free Again,” arguing that protectionism is no answer to the challenges of our time.
As recently as January 2026, an FDP politician said on Instagram: “Tariffs are nothing other than hidden taxes. They make products more expensive and harm freedom and prosperity.”
At EU level, too, the FDP had claimed to be campaigning for this, as a post by MEP Svenja Hahn on X shows. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different.
FDP at EU Level Votes for More Protectionism
We can only hope that the FDP’s new chairman will take a clear and firm line here against his rival Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and her loyal follower Svenja Hahn. Because the two ladies named have done anything but campaign for free trade at EU level – something that is clearly evident from the voting results on the introduction of new European tariffs on steel. More than that, both close their ears to the concerns of real small- and medium-sized companies.
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