More than 700 energy-intensive Greek manufacturers are warning of possible layoffs and closures unless Athens activates two EU crisis-support tools within weeks. The signal, sent this week by sixteen industry bodies, lands as small hospitality operators in northern Greece are already talking openly about staff cuts to survive winter heating bills.

Whether you work in manufacturing, tourism or hospitality, or you sit on the HR side of one of those companies, the next few weeks matter. Here is what the request covers, what similar EU countries have already done, and what it means in practice.

What the industry is actually asking for

According to reporting in To Vima on 22 September 2026, sixteen production and industrial bodies have jointly asked the Greek government to immediately activate two EU frameworks known as CISAF and METSAF. These are the mechanisms Brussels designed to let member states cushion energy-intensive industry from price shocks without breaching state-aid rules.

The petition covers more than 700 energy-intensive manufacturing companies currently exposed to electricity-price swings. The signatories include ΕΒΕΘ, ΣΒΕ, ΣΕΒΕ, the Association of Industries of Attica and Piraeus, Ελληνική Παραγωγή, ΣΕΒ, ΠΑ.Σ.Ε.ΒΙ.ΠΕ., ΕΒΙΚΕΝ and ΕΒΙΧΕ, among others: essentially every major industrial voice in the country.

The proposal has three moving parts:

• A three-year support horizon for energy-intensive manufacturers.
• A requirement that 50% of the aid be reinvested into energy storage, flexibility, efficiency, electrification and decarbonisation projects.
• Activation of METSAF, an emergency tool added to address the impacts of the new energy crisis linked to developments in the Middle East.

In other words, this is not a bailout request. It is a request to unlock EU-permitted tools that six other member states have already used.

Germany, Italy, Austria and three others have already moved

This is the part of the story that changes the political maths. The industry bodies specifically note that Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria and Ireland have already deployed the European support instruments. Greek manufacturers competing in the same single market are, right now, absorbing higher electricity costs than their direct rivals in six comparable economies.

Γιάννης Χατζηθεοδοσίου, president of the Athens Professional Chamber (ΕΕΑ), made the same point on OPEN this week when discussing rising energy costs.

All of Europe has a problem. But every country has taken measures. So Europe is not restricting you.

He also argued for proportional taxation, so that larger companies and highly profitable sectors contribute more to funding the support measures, rather than a flat approach that squeezes smaller firms disproportionately.

For employees: what layoff risk actually looks like

If you work in energy-intensive manufacturing, or in tourism and hospitality across northern Greece, the risk is not abstract. STAR ran an on-site report in Aridaia, in Pella, and captured what small operators are already saying about winter heating costs at guesthouses and hotels.

A restaurant owner in Aridaia put it bluntly: they may need to close their shops given where electricity and heating oil prices have gone, may have to move to layoffs, and are looking at every possible way to cut costs. A guesthouse owner in the same area described fighting “tooth and nail” to hold pricing so rooms stay affordable for every budget.

Concretely, if you are in one of the exposed sectors:

• Check your contract type. Fixed-term and seasonal contracts in tourism are the first line to be cut when winter bookings soften. Know when your contract ends and what notice applies under the Greek labour code.
• Document your pay and hours now. If your employer starts cutting hours to reduce the wage bill instead of formal layoffs, you need a clear record of your baseline. Payslips, rota screenshots, anything dated.
• Understand your severance entitlement. Redundancy compensation in Greece depends on tenure and contract type. If a layoff conversation happens, do not sign anything on the spot.
• Start passive job-market research. Not because you need to leave tomorrow, but because knowing what jobs are open in your role and region gives you a real fallback. Salary benchmarks in adjacent sectors are worth checking too.

If a colleague or manager tells you “nothing is decided yet,” that is true. It is also exactly the moment to prepare, not the moment to relax.

For HR and employers: the workforce-planning window is now

If you sit on the HR or people-ops side of a manufacturing, tourism or hospitality business exposed to electricity and heating costs, the policy timeline reshapes your Q4 planning.

Three practical implications:

• Model two scenarios in parallel. Scenario A: CISAF and METSAF activated within weeks, energy cost pressure eases from Q1 2027, hiring plans hold. Scenario B: activation delayed, cost pressure persists through winter, headcount review becomes unavoidable. Do not wait until December to model Scenario B.
• Freeze non-critical hires, protect critical ones. A hiring freeze is easier to reverse than a layoff. Identify the 20% of open roles that are genuinely load-bearing for winter operations and separate them from “nice to have” requisitions.
• Prepare the internal communication. Whatever the outcome, workers are already reading the same news you are. Silence from leadership is louder than a straightforward update on how the company is monitoring the situation and what would trigger a change.

The industry proposal itself, with its three-year horizon and 50% reinvestment clause, is also worth reading as a workforce-planning signal. If it is activated, businesses that took the money will have committed to energy-efficiency and electrification investments that reshape job roles across operations, maintenance and facilities. Retention and reskilling plans should be drafted alongside the financial ones, not after.

The political backdrop

The government is under pressure from two sides. Prime Minister Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης recently warned that the fiscal progress achieved is always fragile, and that if another government came to power and decided again to spend beyond the country’s means, it would not take long for the bond markets to turn. That is the constraint on how far and how fast Athens is willing to move on new support schemes.

The opposition’s counter-argument, as reported by STAR, is that the government has four different tools available for a more drastic reduction of pump prices, and that heating oil above 1.4 euro per litre and road diesel above 1.8 euro per litre are not justified. Whether or not you accept that framing, it captures the political fight over how much of the cost should sit with consumers and businesses versus the state.

For workers and HR teams, the takeaway is the same either way: the decision window is short. The industry request specifies weeks, not months. Track the CISAF and METSAF activation announcements closely, because that is the trigger that decides whether Scenario A or Scenario B becomes your Q4.

Key takeaways

• Sixteen Greek industry bodies representing more than 700 energy-intensive manufacturers are asking Athens to activate the EU’s CISAF and METSAF frameworks within weeks.
• Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria and Ireland have already deployed similar EU support tools.
• Small tourism and hospitality operators in northern Greece are already discussing layoffs and possible closures over winter heating costs.
• Workers in exposed sectors should document pay and hours now, understand severance entitlements, and start passive job-market research.
• HR teams should model two scenarios in parallel, protect only load-bearing hires, and prepare internal communication before workers ask.