Car industry No social plan for 3000 Audi employees in Brussels

Audi and the employee representatives of the plant in Brussels, which is facing closure, cannot agree on a social plan. The company's sixth offer has also been rejected, Audi announced.

The car manufacturer, which belongs to the Volkswagen Group, intends to end car production in Brussels at the end of February. The search for an investor or another solution for the 3,000 employees was unsuccessful. In addition to the statutory redundancy pay, Audi is offering them severance pay, the amount of which depends on the length of service.

An employee who has been with the company for 17 years would receive between 125,000 and 190,000 euros, depending on their position and salary, the company announced. "Overall, Audi is spending more than twice as much on severance payments as required by law." The company is now planning to make each employee their own offer. However, without a joint social plan, Audi is not allowed to offer additional retirement arrangements for employees over 60 for legal reasons.

Like its parent company Volkswagen, Audi is in crisis and is discussing with the General Works Council in Ingolstadt how redundancies in Germany can be avoided. Only one model, the large Q8 e-tron electric SUV, is built in Brussels. Audi has been negotiating the closure of the small plant with works councils and trade unions for six months.