(autoinsidernews) - Volkswagen has announced plans to build the Audi A1 at its plant in Brussels to calm workers' anger at sweeping job cuts there. In November, VW said it would stop production of the Golf at the Brussels plant, which would mean cutting staff from 4,900 to 1,500.
The decision to build the A1 in Brussels means far fewer jobs will be lost than had been previously announced, said Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, reports Trend.
Last week I was not very optimistic… but there is now a prospect on the horizon, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference after meeting VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech and Audi chief and future VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
The Belgian factory will manufacture over 100,000 A1s annually from 2009 to 2016, securing up to 3,000 jobs. There is no news about how the plant the 2007-2008 period until the new Audi A1 starts production in 2009.