The European Commission has proposed mobilising €7.5 million for the 3,414 workers affected by the closure of the Audi factory in Brussels just over a year ago.
In February 2025, Audi workers went in for their final shift after the automobile giant announced it would cease production of its electric car model, the Q8 e-tron.
This resulted in the closure of the plant despite a huge mobilisation from trade unions and even the intervention of the former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
Now, the European Commission has proposed to mobilise €7.5 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF).
Since 2007, this fund has helped more than 181,000 people in 20 Member States, intervening in 186 cases with €727 million disbursed.
The EGF-funded measures will help 2,580 former Audi workers and 834 workers from Audi's suppliers. With this support, they will be able to train, learn new skills and rejoin the labour market.
It includes career counselling and guidance, training in new and related professional skills, and also supporting dismissed workers to launch their own businesses.
The Belgian public authorities are also providing €1.3 million through a regional employment service, bringing the total estimated cost of these measures to €8.8 million.
The EGF will also be able to retroactively cover the support given by the Belgian authorities since February last year, shortly before the first layoffs and after the end of support services for workers provided by Audi.
The production of the Audi e-tron in Brussels. Credit: Belga/ Eric Lalmand
At the time, unions criticised the redundancy plan for largely benefiting executives and very high earners. They were deemed not enough for blue-collar workers, and took almost four months of negotiations.
The German carmaker also distributed a company bonus, the amount of which will be determined on the basis of the employee's length of service.
Today, the large complex remains unused, with the Defence Minister Theo Francken having floated the idea of opening an arms factory as a replacement, but the plan was criticised, given the plant’s proximity to urban areas, making it a strategic target.
In November, a sale for the site was blocked due to soil pollution, making it impossible at this stage to set a realistic price, L'Echo reported.
The regional administration will now require a more detailed investigation, including new drilling operations, to determine the full extent of the contamination. This process could take months.
For the next steps, the Commission’s proposal now requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council. It needs a simple majority in the European Parliament and a qualified majority in the Council.
