Audi and the employee representatives of the plant in Brussels, which is about to be closed, cannot agree on a social plan. Audi said the company’s sixth offer was also rejected.
The one for VolkswagenThe car manufacturer owned by the group wants 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 notice pay, Audi offers them a severance payment, the amount of which depends on their length of service.
An employee with 17 years of service would receive between 125,000 and 190,000 euros, depending on the role and salary, the company said. “Overall, Audi is spending more than twice as much on severance payments as required by law.”
Now the company plans to make each employee their own offer. Without a joint social plan, Audi is not allowed to offer additional age regulations for employees over 60 for legal reasons.
Like its parent company Volkswagen, Audi is in crisis and is talking to the general works council in Ingolstadt about how redundancies can be avoided in Germany. The Brussels factory 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. In addition, the location between a residential area, railway tracks and the motorway makes expansion difficult. Audi has been negotiating the closure of the small plant with works councils and unions for six months.