- Audi’s plant in Brussels is home to roughly 3,000 staff but will close its doors on February 28.
- Production at the site will continue for two months after the Christmas holidays.
- The carmaker says it’s speaking with a new investor in the commercial sector, but no deal has been reached.
Audi will close its production facility in Brussels, Belgium, in February next year, but there remains a glimmer of hope it could be saved with new investment.
The Forest plant has been under threat for several months and will be the first factory closed by the VW Group in Europe. It handles production of the Q8 e-tron and employs roughly 3,000 staff, but will close its doors on February 28. The VW Group has previously confirmed there’s been a slowdown in demand for the Q8 e-tron models built in Brussels and that it has no plans of building any other vehicles at the site.
Read: Audi Wants To Kill The Q8 E-Tron, May Shut Brussels Plant
The decision was made during a works council meeting with unions earlier in the week. Production of the Q8 e-tron will continue right up until the closure, and workers will be required to return from Christmas holidays to complete two final months of work over two shifts.
Audi has been looking for ways to make the plant viable. It has spoken with 26 potential investors who’ve shown interest in the plant, but according to the carmaker, none of them have presented a sustainable business plan.
Speaking with The Brussel Times about attempts to save the plant, Audi Brussels spokesperson Peter D’hoore said that no viable alternative had been found to keep the site alive.
“More than twenty alternative business models were analyzed as part of the information and consultation process, for example in the areas of electromobility and battery technology, but also lifecycle sustainability and new business models along the value chain,” D’hoore confirmed. He added that as of Tuesday this week, Audi had been in talks with a new investor.
This new investor is from the commercial vehicle sector, although details about negotiations with Audi are being kept under lock and key. As it stands, management at the plant will finalize information and the consultation process with workers at a works council meeting scheduled for November 12.
