THOUSANDS of mechanics demonstrated in the Belgian capital today to protest against the threat of massive job cuts at a Brussels car factory.

Protests erupted after German car manufacturer Audi announced that it would “phase out” production at its Forest plant in southern Brussels — threatening around 3,000 jobs. 

Police estimate that around 5,500 demonstrators took part in the march. 

Salvatore Tabone, who has worked at Audi for 27 years, said: “What is happening at Audi can also happen at other factories too. So we have to act to make sure that industries remain.”

ACV union representative Lieve De Preter said: “This is not an isolated case, unfortunately.”

The European Trade Union Confederation said Audi’s decision was “part of a wider trend which saw Europe lose 850,000 jobs across the industry between 2019 and 2023.”

ETUC general secretary Esther Lynch said “the imminent threat to thousands of jobs should bring home to EU leaders that they are simply not doing enough to support our industries.”