Sacked Audi workers struggling to find new jobs

Hundreds of Audi workers who were laid off following the closure of the Brussels car factory are struggling to find new employment, new figures reveal.

The closure of Audi Brussels was announced two years ago and production ceased in February 2025. About 3,000 workers lost their jobs, and hundreds of jobs were also at risk among suppliers.

The hope was that other companies, for example in the logistics or construction sectors, would be interested in offering those affected a new job.

But while more than 1,500 former Audi staff and employees of suppliers have now found work again or are following a training programme, according to an interim report in February, the union is anxious about those who remain unemployed. Several hundred workers are still without a long-term solution.

“The number of vacancies has fallen in recent months, and that makes a return to the labour market particularly difficult for many experienced workers,” said ACV trade unionist Jan Baetens.

“In recent months, we’ve seen that industrial companies in the region are less keen to recruit. The American courier firm UPS even announced in June that it intended to cut up to 525 jobs in Belgium.

"Former Audi employees in and around Brussels, in particular, are currently finding it difficult to find work. Those with low levels of education are in the most vulnerable position."

The economic downturn has also heightened the urgency to find a new economic use for the former Audi site.

Brussels economy minister Laurent Hublet (Les Engagés) announced a few weeks ago the intention to transform the site in Forest into an "economic acceleration zone" designed to support the reindustrialisation of Brussels. But the site has still not changed hands, meaning the new development remains on hold.

It had previously been reported that Audi was set to finalise the sale of the factory to the Limburg-based investor Heylen Warehouses by June 2026, but that deadline came and went and the parties involved in the matter are reluctant to comment.

Baetens said that he saw some hope in the recently announced major restructuring at Audi’s parent group, Volkswagen, in Germany.

“Such a restructuring costs a lot of money,” Baetens said.

“That could prompt Audi to sell the factory in Forest quickly and thus bring the matter to a complete close.”

It is unclear how much the site is worth, with figures ranging widely from €40 to €100 million. Insiders note the costs of soil remediation, which are difficult to estimate and will be a crucial factor in any eventual sale.

The ACV union supports minister Hublet’s target of creating up to 50 jobs per hectare at the former site, for a total of up to 2,750 new jobs.

“The Audi story must not end with a closure. It must mark the beginning of a new industrial chapter for Brussels,” the trade union said.