Yahoo Autos Workers Steal Keys to 200-Plus Cars, Union Says, After Audi Threatens to Close Plant
The Volkswagen Group has found itself under fire in Belgium over the potential of an impending closure at its Brussels manufacturing plant — and its employees are fighting back in an unusual way, according to the union that represents them.
Following concurring announcements that the German automotive conglomerate was considering closing its Audi factory in Brussels and that the plant would not be assigned a new model for the upcoming year, thousands of workers have taken to the streets in protest, going on strike starting last week. With over 3000 jobs in jeopardy, some took their civil disobedience a step further; according to the union that represents the plant workers, the employees responded by stealing hundreds of keys from completed and semi-completed vehicles, stating that cars wouldn’t be delivered until their future employment prospects were clear, according to reporting by Fortune.
"It's not nice that they have been stalling us for so long. Closed, not closed, closed, not closed. Wage, no wage. It’s not nice you know. I hope something will come out of it," Katie Vanden Eycken, one of Audi's Brussels employees, said to Automotive News Europe.
Representatives for the workers' union told Fortune that it had confiscated keys to between 200 and 300 vehicles from the factory, and that the keys were being held in a safe place. Reports from local Brussels media stated that Audi intended to sue the union if the keys were not returned by Monday, September 16. As of today — Tuesday, September 17 — the union and Audi are reportedly cooperating in returning the keys and ending the strike this afternoon.
Audi's Brussels plant is responsible for only one model, the Q8 E-Tron. the German brand announced back in July that it was considering closing the facility due to low demand for the electric SUV. After some turmoil surrounding the announcement, there were rumors that Volkswagen could potentially produce another model at its Brussels facility, momentarily quelling the worker's uprising. Earlier this month, however, Volkswagen reiterated that it would not assign a new model to its Brussels plant, stating it has no profitable alternative to produce there.
The Brussels facility is not the only Volkswagen group factory that may be in jeopardy, as the brand implements a cost-cutting drive targeting $11 billion in savings by 2026 under the watch of CEO Oliver Blume. Even production facilities in Germany may close, according to statements from Volkswagen's Works Council, as one large vehicle plant and one component factory in Germany are reportedly considered obsolete in the modern age. Volkswagen hasn't closed a factory since it shuttered the Westmoreland, Pennsylvania site, formerly home to stateside Volkswagen Golf production, in 1988; it has never closed one in Germany.
"We also want to send a strong signal to European authorities, which are making things difficult for Belgian industry, but also for European industry. The manufacturing industry is mainly migrating away from our countries," Patrick Van Belle, chief official of the Socialist union at Audi, said to Automotive News Europe.
The future of Audi's Brussels facility remains murky, as the Volkswagen Group claims to be searching for an investor to back its struggling Belgian facility, according to Audi production director Gerd Walker. Walker said Audi is examining its options in conjunction with employees, but has yet to find a solution that is economically rational. In any event, VW's financial situation is on less stable ground than before, a fact that Blume blames on increasing competition from Asian automakers.
"Fewer cars are being sold in Europe, and new competitors from Asia are pushing aggressively into the market," Blume told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "The cake has got smaller, and we have more guests at the table."
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