Auto industry
Audi will end production in Brussels in February
The end of the Volkswagen Group’s electric car factory in Belgium is getting closer. No one is expected to be laid off this year. But the long search for an alternative for the plant was unsuccessful.
Audi plans to stop car production at the Brussels plant at the end of February next year. The company announced this to the works council and the unions on Tuesday. There are no plans for layoffs until the end of this year.
Audi has been considering closing the Brussels plant for some time and – as required by law in Belgium – has been discussing the matter with works councils and unions for months. The company management wants to complete this information and consultation process in two weeks.
The factory, which employs 3,000 people, only produces a single model, the Q8 e-tron electric SUV. Its sales figures are shrinking. The factory has very high logistics costs because there are only a few suppliers nearby. The location between a residential area, railway tracks and the motorway makes expansion difficult. The parent company Volkswagen is in crisis and does not want to launch a new model in Brussels.
Audi said discussions were still ongoing with a potential investor. The company had already spoken to more than 20 potential investors from the automotive industry, with no prospect of a viable concept for the location and the employees.
dpa
Source: Stern
