Belgians blame Germany for Golf job losses

Volkswagen, the German carmaker, plans to shift Golf production from its Brussels factory to plants in Germany, and cut employment in the Belgian capital from the current 5,400 to around 1,500. Belgian unions and the workforce have reacted with horror, and some have blamed the German union IG Metall.

The scale of the job losses, announced as Labour Research went to press, was worse than anticipated and there are doubts as to whether the Brussels plant has a long-term future, despite being highly productive. In an official statement the FGTB, one of the main Belgian union confederations, expressed its astonishment that "the efforts accepted by the workers in terms of flexibility ... have been in vain".

There was also a feeling that Brussels was being sacrificed to maintain jobs in Germany, and that IG Metall's deal in September which accepted increased hours without higher pay was to blame (see Labour Research November 2006, page 8). However, Luc Cortebeeck of the other main confederation, the CSC, cautioned it is "too soon to accuse IG Metall ... we may need them".

Peter Scherrer, general secretary of the European Metalworkers Federation has rejected forced redundancies and called for "European solidarity".