Genk closure: first reactions

Reactions to the announcement of the closure of the Ford plant in Genk have been understandably sanguine.

John Crombez (pictured), state secretary for the Fight against Fraud, pointed the finger at the manufacturer: “They ask for public subsidies to maintain competitiveness, and as soon as they get them, they leave.”

Gert Steegmans, of the Liberal Union, said it was “the worst disaster to hit the region since the closure of the coal mines in the eighties”.

“I simply cannot believe it,” said worker Peter Aerts. “It was only last month last month I got an invitation to celebrate twenty-five years working here.”

Another employee, Rudi Schepens, said it was “difficult because most people here are over forty. They gave us hope, and now it’s all gone”.

For Jo Libeer, of employers’ association Voka, meanwhile, the blame lies not with Ford; instead he called for a “drastic decrease of labour costs in Belgium”.

Ford Europe representatives, including CEO Stephen Odell, are scheduled to meet prime minister Elio Di Rupo and employment minister Monica De Coninck at 13.00, a government spokesman confirmed. The European managers did not attend this morning’s meeting; local managers simply read out a statement.