Audi plant in Brussels threatened with closure due to production stoppage
The Audi plant in Brussels with around 3000 employees is at risk of closing down. The VW subsidiary is considering stopping production of the Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron models prematurely at the site, as Audi announced. Since these are currently the only models being produced in Brussels, Audi now intends to restructure and has initiated the mandatory information and consultation process prescribed by Belgian law. The end of this process could result in the closure of the plant if no alternatives are found.
"The Audi Q8 e-tron model family currently produced at the Brussels site is affected by a specific, severe drop in demand," Audi explained as the reason for the considerations. In addition, there are "structural challenges at the Brussels site," which lead to relatively high production costs.
The announcement to restructure "is not yet a final decision," emphasized the head of Audi Brussels, Volker German. "However, this news moves the workforce in Brussels and me significantly."
A future-proof perspective for the plant and the colleagues in Brussels was demanded from the VW group works council. Audi did not comment on how long the process could last. Similar cases have taken up time spans from a few months to almost a year in the past.
- Thousands of employees at the Audi plant in Brussels are facing danger due to the potential cessation of production of the Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron models.
- If the Audi plant in Brussels does not find alternatives during the mandatory information and consultation process, the danger of closing down the plant, affecting thousands of workplaces, becomes imminent.
- Amidst these threats, the head of Audi Brussels, Volker German, expressed that the OFF of the Audi Q8 e-tron model family production is not yet a final decision, though it moves him and the workforce significantly.
