Thousands protest in Brussels as EV troubles threaten Audi plant
The Peninsula
Brussels, Belgium: Thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels on Monday in solidarity with the workers of a nearby Audi factory making electric vehi...
Brussels, Belgium: Thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels on Monday in solidarity with the workers of a nearby Audi factory making electric vehicles that the German carmaker is considering shutting down amid slumping in sales.
Audi said production at the plant, which employs about 3,000 people in the Belgian capital, will end in 2025 -- a move analysts say is symptomatic of the troubles afflicting Europe's wider car industry, amid low demand and competition from China.
"In a few weeks we're going to find ourselves unemployed, with no money and no prospects," said a 37-year-old worker who preferred not to give his name, holding a placard reading: "Our lives are not an assembly line".
Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen, which earlier this month made the bombshell announcement that it was considering the unprecedented step of closing production sites in Germany.
On Monday, police said more than 5,000 people marched through Brussels as part of the protest.
