Four days of temporary unemployment at the Volvo factory in Ghent next week

Car manufacturer Volvo Car Gent, one of the largest industrial employers in Flanders, is planning four days of temporary unemployment next week, Belga has learned. Most of the approximately 6,500 workers will be out of a job and some 650 management staff will also stay home.

The reasons given are the adaptation of production lines to the construction of an electric model and “changing market demands”. This temporary unemployment is not like that not as a result of the reporting requirement of electrical models observed by other manufacturers, like Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen and Tesla. Two weeks ago, it appeared that demand for electric cars in Europe was hitting a hole, mainly because Germany canceled the purchase bonus.

Two Volvo electric models intended for the European market are produced in Ghent (EX40 and EC40). They will soon be joined by the EX30 model, which is selling well. This new model is expected to generate more jobs in Ghent, as the factory hires to increase production over time. Last year, 230,000 cars were built in Ghent, and next year this figure is expected to be even higher.
Another wave of temporary unemployment will take place later this year, to adjust the schedule for the EX30 model.

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