Burning oil barrels, smashed shop windows: It is these images that will bring back memories of the yellow vest revolt in France for many a Volkswagen manager, should things come to an extreme in Brussels. A closure of the car factory in the Belgian capital could trigger violent demonstrations. The management of Europe’s largest car company is preparing for this, because the unions in Belgium are battle-tested. Nowhere else in Europe are there as many strike days as here. There will “certainly be a labor dispute,” employee representatives said on Wednesday. How severe the conflict becomes also depends on the company’s further actions. Trade unions and authorities in Belgium hope that they can extract concessions from VW subsidiary Audi in order to avert the closure.
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