(16 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels 16 September 2024
1. Various of demonstrators walking in downtown Brussels
2. Various of demonstrators chanting
3. Man wearing Audi Brussels jacket at protest
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Salvatore Tabone, Audi factory worker for 27 years:
"After putting lots of efforts into Audi this is the reward we get. So it does not matter how much effort we make, for multinationals it is always the same thing, once their pockets are full they just leave. It is a real shame, yes, there will be a lot of jobs at stake in Belgium because of this."
8. Various of demonstrators marching
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Jan Martens, ACUCSA Meta trade union representative:
"We are trying to negotiate but the fear is that Audi will shut down, and that means trouble for more than 4,000 people, Audi employees and external workers included. This is extremely worrying for the region."
10. Various of police
11. Various of demonstrators arriving in front of European Parliament
12. Various exteriors of the Audi Brussels plant
13. Various of produced cars in parking lots
STORYLINE:
Thousands of disgruntled workers demonstrated in the Belgian capital on Monday to protest against the threat of massive layoffs in an Audi factory.

The stateoftheart Brussels car factory stands as a symbol for key industries across the European Union that clamor for more government support in the face of global competition.

The trigger for Monday's protest, estimated by police at 5,500 people, was the announcement that German automaker Audi would phase out production at its Forest plant in southern Brussels.

The move threatens the jobs of 3,000 staffers, many of whom are experts in electric vehicle production, which the EU seeks to promote as a breakthrough sector as it struggles to compete with China and the United States.

“After putting lots of effort into Audi, this is the reward we get,” said Salvatore Tabone, who said he has worked for 27 years at Audi and now faces the prospect of being laid off.

“It does not matter how much effort we make, for multinationals it is always the same thing, once their pockets are full they just leave,” he said.

A major EUrequested report said the economies across the 27nation EU would need a boost of up to 800 billion euros (almost $900 billion) to lead the bloc through a clean energy transition and prepare for effective competition with its global trading partners.

The EU has often shown weak growth compared to the United States, increasing the industrial transAtlantic gap.

The European Trade Union Confederation said the Audi decision to phase out production in Brussels was “part of a wider trend which saw Europe lose 850,000 jobs across the industry between 2019 and 2023.”

ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said “the imminent threat to thousands of jobs on the doorstep of the European institutions should bring home to EU leaders that they are simply not doing enough to support our industries."

The EU's executive office of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is currently in transition following the June 9 EU elections, but has made a revamp of the bloc's industrial policy a key issue to tackle during its next fiveyear tenure.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...