Audi Brussels unions claim bigger part from ‘€1.3 billion moneybox’

On Tuesday, the unions at Audi’s factory in Brussels, threatened by closure, were told at a works council meeting that only one candidate investor for the plant has come forward but didn’t put a viable plan on the table.

At the same time, management made a first proposal for a social plan, which the unions judged as “not fair.” They claimed a more significant ‘golden handshake’ out of the alleged ‘moneybox’ of 1.3 billion euros Audi has put aside for closing down the factory.

Severance pays with a ceiling of €65,000

According to the ACV union, the prospective investor’s identity and plans have not yet been clarified, and the unions have requested reconciliation. “We want more clarity to study the alternatives, and the unions have requested a reconciliation consultant,” says ACV’s Ronny Liedts.

The social plan is still in the first phase of the Renault Act, and it appears that management will want to conclude it later this month, on October 15th or 29th.

In the meantime, management’s basic proposal of severance pay put on the table on Tuesday was judged “not fair.” The staff also regarded the proposal as grossly inadequate and spontaneously laid off work on Tuesday. Work resumed on Wednesday, and a new consultation on the social plan was on the agenda.

Under the initial proposal, the severance pay above the statutory pay would amount to 2,500 euros per year of seniority, with a ceiling of 65,000 euros. By comparison, up to 144,000 severance pay was paid when Opel Antwerp closed in 2010.

Reform of the Renault Act?

The political task force on the future of the Forest Audi site will also meet again on October 9th. The question is whether the task force can still do much to prevent a complete closure of the plant – at most, 1,500 of the more than 3,000 employees would still have a job with the selected Belgian candidate investor.

The House Committees on Economy and Social Affairs also met on Wednesday with representatives of Audi’s trade unions and employers’ organization Agoria Brussels. However, the carmaker’s management refused the parliament’s invitation for the second time.

Meanwhile, the leftist parties in parliament are calling for a reform of the Renault Act, which applies to collective dismissals. Among other things, it should be extended to the personnel of suppliers and subcontractors.

For example, Audi suppliers Imperial Logistics and Rhenus Logistics employees, which would employ some 400 people, are displeased by the lack of social dialogue within their own companies. Other parties are less enthusiastic about this reform but want to have the debate.

At stake is the amount of €1,3 billion

According to the business newspaper De Tijd, Audi Brussels accumulated 1.3 billion euros over the past quarter to cover all costs associated with the closure of the Forest plant. Depending on the employee’s seniority, that would amount to a severance payment of almost 447,000 euros per person.

However, the 1.3 billion must also pay for depreciation of the land, plant, and machinery, for example, as well as wages when the plant was shut down for almost two months after the restructuring announcement.

Since Audi Brussels is not bankrupt and still made a profit last year, the union expects to be able to extract a hefty severance payment. Union man Liedts also refers to the large-scale reorganization at Volkswagen in Germany in April.

Severance payments then ranged from 17,700 euros to more than 400,000 euros, depending on seniority and pay scale. Volkswagen also offered a turbo bonus of 50,000 euros for employees who quickly agreed to the severance proposal or thus resigned voluntarily. Volkswagen made an 18 billion euro profit last year.