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The German carmaker Volkswagen Group's Audi brand reorganized its Brussels factory in Belgium, which has been shut down since early September and workers are facing job losses, CCTV News reported.

It is reported that on September 16, local time, more than 10,000 people took to the streets of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, for a large-scale demonstration, demanding that the European Union formulate a practical industrial policy to defend the employment of the European automobile industry. On the morning of the same day, demonstrators went to Luxembourg Square, where the European Parliament is located, and the police blocked several streets, seriously affecting traffic in Brussels. "Manufacturing in Europe is disappearing and its future must be guaranteed," said an Audi factory employee. "

The demonstration was sparked by Audi's impending closure of its factory in Brussels, where 90 per cent of Audi's 3000 workers are at risk of losing their jobs next year. In July, foreign media reported that Volkswagen Group said that Audi was considering stopping production of its flagship models Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron sportback ahead of time because of a sharp drop in demand for high-end electric cars, or would close Audi's plant in Brussels and was forced to lower its profit margin target for this year.

The Brussels plant, Audi's first plant to specialize in electric cars, is currently producing the Q8 e-tron, which is about to enter the last two to three years of its life cycle. It is understood that the factory employs about 3000 long-term workers and 500 temporary workers, producing a total of about 50, 000 cars in 2023.

Behind Audi's or factory closure is the low demand for electric cars in Europe. Audi said it had been hit hard by heavy investment in capacity and technology development for electric vehicles, but demand for high-end electric cars in Europe was much lower than expected. As a result, if the Brussels factory has no alternative model or use in the future, it will have to face the risk of closure, and if the factory closes, it means that a large number of workers will lose their jobs.

Gerd Walker, Audi's production director, said on Sept. 17 that Audi was looking for investors for its troubled Brussels plant and had studied several options, but had not yet made a final decision on the future of the plant.

It is worth mentioning that Volkswagen Group also issued a statement earlier this month that it was considering closing its German plant, including a larger car factory and a parts factory, in order to cut expenses, involving Volkswagen's main passenger car brands. If the factory is closed eventually, it will be the first time that Volkswagen has closed its factory in Germany since its founding in 87 years, and the closure and compulsory layoffs of local factories will be completed by 2026.

Then, on Sept. 10, Volkswagen announced that it would end a series of job-guarantee agreements with unions, which were supposed to protect jobs until 2029 and will now end early in the middle of next year. In response, Volkswagen CEO Obermu said in a statement that in the face of fierce competition from European competitors and Chinese automakers, all Volkswagen brands need to be fully restructured to control factory, labor, product and material costs. Gunnar Kilian, head of human resources at Volkswagen, said in a statement that the series of measures were aimed at "reducing costs in Germany to a competitive level" in order to use the saved resources to invest in new technologies and products.

Whether it is Volkswagen Group or its Audi brand, factory closure and layoffs are the fastest way to reduce costs and increase efficiency, especially in the environment of the transformation of new energy vehicles, in the face of increasingly fierce competition, personnel optimization has become an effective measure for many traditional car companies to "cut costs and improve efficiency". Of course, in the wave of electrification of the global automobile industry, not only vehicle manufacturers, including German automobile supply chain companies, are also pushing for layoffs, and some have even been overwhelmed to declare bankruptcy restructuring. As the second largest car company in the world, Volkswagen is also in the throes of transformation. "the European auto industry is in a very harsh and grim situation, the economic environment is becoming more severe, and new competitors are entering the European market," Obom, Volkswagen's chief executive, said earlier this month. the cake is smaller, but there are more guests at the table. "

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