371 temporary employees dismissed at Audi Brussels, De Croo meets CEO

According to Franky De Schrijver, the chief representative of the ABVV at Audi Brussels, it was announced at a works council on Thursday that the production speed will be reduced. That is why 371 interim contracts are being terminated. The reason would be the limited demand for electric models.

At the beginning of last month, when the tire was shut down in the factory for two weeks, trade unionists heard that additional weeks of temporary unemployment might be introduced. A reduction in production speed was also considered at the time, it said.

Cold shower

“Yet no one expected it to happen so quickly,” says De Schrijver. “It is a cold shower. There was no preparatory discussion, while the impact is enormous. We expected an intermediate step, hoped to reach a compromise and keep people on board, but that turned out not to be possible.”

De Schrijver says that the band is also at a standstill at the moment, and that the strike notice will take effect when that temporary unemployment ends, on April 8. Reducing the production rate would mean less temporary unemployment, although this is limited.

According to the ABVV, the management has been asked to meet as early as next week. The notice applies not only to temporary workers, but also to permanent staff.

Tough decision

In a press release, Audi Brussels spokesperson Peter D’hoore confirms that the interim contracts will not be extended, a decision that is “tough” to make. “Challenging economic conditions and the lack of predictability of subsidies in some markets are currently causing some reluctance among customers to purchase fully electric vehicles,” it said. “Since we only produce electric cars at Audi Brussels, we are involved and have to adapt our production program.”