World
Belgian Audi factory closes, leaving thousands of workers jobless
Audi operations will be moved to China and Mexico due to high costs. Future uses for the site in the Brussels neighbourhood of Forest are being considered.
Audi Brussels factory is set to close in the Belgian capital, releasing its 3,000 workers who went in for their last shift on Friday.
Halfway through last year, production was already reduced, and between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs were cut. At the end of October, no serious investor or buyer had emerged, leading to the decision to close the factory this February.
“It just feels weird that it’s coming to an end,” one employee said. “When you’ve been coming here for 15 years, the factory is a big part of your life. Then, all of a sudden, it’s over. It’s like a whole part of your life is over.”
The factory in Brussels’ neighbourhood of Forest has been assembling luxury Audis since 2006, when the then-Volkswagen factory was saved from the brink of closure.
But almost 20 years later, there is no good news for the workers at Audi Brussels. At the start of 2024, it was announced that the factory’s car production would be moved to China and Mexico.
Audi’s profit margins were deemed too low, and the Belgian workers were too expensive.
‘It’s a bit like divorce’
Aurelien Duval has been working for Audi for almost ten years. He’s in charge of the maintenance department.
“It’s a bit like a divorce, in fact. You don’t know if you should blame management, if it’s your fault, if it’s… The emotions are a bit strange,” Duval said.
“Maybe I blame Audi’s top management, because it’s not a bankruptcy, they’re just leaving to make extra profits,” he added.
The announcements led to employees and trade unions going on strike and holding hundreds of car keys “hostage” in protest of the decision.
“I’ve been working here for 10 years,” said a worker in front of the factory on Friday. “I thought I’d make my whole career at Audi, but that won’t be the case.”
“I’m young, I think I’ll find work again easily, but unfortunately, the pay may not keep up. At Audi, we’re very well paid, so it’ll be complicated to find the same salary elsewhere,” he added.
The Belgian car industry has seen a sharp decline in the last thirty years. Once a leader in the field, Belgium’s vehicle manufacture has slid by 80% since the late 1990s.
Talking about the future of the Audi Brussels factory itself, Belgium’s Minister of Defence Theo Francken has touted the idea of turning the plant into a weapons production site.
This could create new jobs, Francken said, adding that there is an “urgent need for military materials”.
ADVERTISEMENTThere are other options for conversion that could include different sectors, according to the Forest-Vorst Charles Spapens.
Additional sources • EBU
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World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
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A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
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US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
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Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The once close pair’s relationship has grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his remarks on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
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