Workers at Audi’s soon-to-close Brussels factory have protested management’s attempt to offer workers direct compensation rather than negotiate with unions.
With the call of labor unions in Belgium, hundreds of people working at the Audi Brussels factory gathered in front of the facility. Workers wanted the factory management, which is expected to close at the end of February, to offer more assurance to employees.
Protesters criticized Audi management’s decision to make offers directly to workers rather than through union representatives.
In July, the Audi brand announced that it would restructure the Brussels factory, where the luxury segment electric car model Q8 is produced and where approximately 3 thousand people work, due to the decrease in demand, and that the production of these models would continue in Mexico.
Audi management announced at the beginning of September that no models were allocated to the factory in Brussels by the Volkswagen Group for production. This situation disturbed factory workers and unions.
The employees had confiscated the keys to the cars that had not yet returned to work and were completed.
Audi also started looking for new investors for its Brussels factory. Although more than 20 investors were contacted during this process, a suitable buyer could not be found.
The management of the factory, which is expected to be closed, and the union representatives could not reach an agreement on the “social plan” negotiations for the employees. For this reason, Audi management decided to make offers directly to workers instead of union representatives.
In this context, in addition to the legal severance pay, Audi plans to give bonuses to employees depending on the length of service.
Unions oppose Audi management’s direct offer to workers.
