Production at Audi's plant in Brussels is set to resume from the start of September, management announced today at a meeting with staff where tensions flared.
Around 1,000 workers from Audi Brussels gathered outside the Forest National concert hall on Friday, for a general assembly about the future of the Audi Brussels production plant.
In July, Audi Brussels officially announced plans to restructure its site in Forest, which currently employs more than 3,000 people. The company cited a slowdown in demand for the electric Q8 e-tron models produced in Brussels, as well as "long-standing structural challenges" with the site.
The restructuring has cast a shadow over the future of the factory, with the possibility that it could close altogether. If Audi Brussels decides to close the assembly line, it would potentially mean the loss of 1,500 jobs from October, and more than 1,100 additional jobs in 2025.
Closure would be a major blow to Belgium's once-booming automotive industry and would leave Volvo's site in Ghent as the only large car factory left in the country.
Agitation among staff was evident before Friday's meeting began, as firecrackers popped off just before 10:00. Extra security measures, including fences and searches, sparked further outrage among employees. Subcontractors, as well as journalists, were barred from entering the hall.
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At the meeting, Audi Brussels management announced that vehicle production at the plant, initially planned to resume on Tuesday this week, will now recommence 2 September.
Production will remain halted next week but staff will still be paid. Delivery of parts will start from next Thursday, with a view to an effective resumption on Monday 2 September. A new extraordinary works council meeting is scheduled for 5 September.
Unions noted a distinct reluctance among workers to return without future prospects. According to the principal delegate of the FGTB-ABVV at Audi Brussels, Franky De Schrijver, the employees demonstrated their refusal to return to work without future site guarantees through jeers and whistles.
