They found each other thanks to Van Hool, now Renata (40) and Jef (45) have both lost their jobs: “Our children offered all their savings” | Bankruptcy of bus builder Van Hool

At Van Hool, 2,500 people lost their jobs, but the bankruptcy hit Renata Julien (40) and her partner Jozef ‘Jef’ De Hert (45) twice as hard. They had worked at the bus construction company in Koningshooikt for 20 and 18 years and even got to know each other on the work floor. “A colleague had given him my number, but the wrong name. When he finally dared to call, he asked if Rocco Granata was home…” But what happens next for them is no laughing matter. “Will that trip to the south of France this summer work? And what do we tell our children?”