industriAll Europe would like to express its full support for the three thousand women and men working at the Audi plant in Forest, employees of Audi and of subcontracting companies, following the restructuring plan announced at the Extraordinary Works Council meeting on 9 July.

IndustriAll Europe appeals to the European, national and regional political authorities, as well as to the car manufacturers based in Europe, to do their utmost to guarantee a strong national and European industrial plan that creates quality jobs and a fair transition that fully respects the rights of workers and their trade union representatives.

The struggle of the Forest workers and the trade unions that represent them is part of this perspective. IndustriAll Europe supports the demand of the Forest workers' unions to obtain a model to be put into production in Brussels in order to perpetuate an industrial car assembly activity there and maintain a maximum number of jobs for Audi workers and subcontractors.

IndustriAll Europe denounces the social brutality that too often characterises the current transition within the automotive sector. It is unacceptable that the managers of multinational firms in the sector are raking in bonuses and distributing dividends while workers are faced with restructuring. In Forest as elsewhere, employers must do everything possible to avoid redundancies and provide credible and humane solutions for all employees concerned, whether they are their own staff or those of subcontractors. IndustriAll Europe fully supports the demands made in this respect by the Belgian trade unions with a view to the social consultation phase which will open at a later date, in accordance with the law in force in the country.

IndustriAll Europe insists that the forthcoming discussions take place with full respect for the information and consultation rights of workers and their trade union representatives. In a spirit of European solidarity, IndustriAll Europe will support all its Belgian affiliates in their efforts to achieve this.

We find the announcement of the measures affecting the Audi site all the more incomprehensible:

• it affects a site that has been 100% electric for several years, is at the cutting edge of technology and is fully committed to zero-carbon efforts.
• the location of the site allows direct access via a railway line or specially dedicated motorway slip road.
  
• that the Brussels site has benefited from millions of euros in public subsidies (reduction in withholding tax, support for training) and has benefited greatly from the advantages associated with economic unemployment, which must imply an obligation to maintain employment.
• that it is essential to retain the qualifications and skills made possible by the more than 1 million hours of vocational training carried out on the site, and to avoid at all costs that this know-how acquired largely thanks to public funding leaves Europe.