Never before have so many jobs been lost: “Worst crisis in the industry in 15 years”

Restructurings and bankruptcies. For many Belgian companies, 2024 was a pitch-black year. A total of 11,549 companies went bankrupt. That’s not a record – there were even more in 2013 and 2019 – but the damage left by 2024 at job level is unparalleled. According to trade information supplier GraydonCreditsafe, a record number of 27,187 jobs were at risk last year as a result of these bankruptcies, almost a third more than last year.

The explanation for this is the fact that a striking number of large companies had to close their doors. For example, in 2024, fifteen companies employing more than a hundred employees went bankrupt. In 2023 there were “only” six. Bus builder Van Hool, the former Flemish industrial gem that was declared bankrupt at the beginning of last year, among others, plays a role in the figures. About 2,400 employees lost their jobs there, the heaviest toll since the closure of Ford Genk in 2014.

Construction sector is declining

The construction sector suffered the most. This was good for a record of 2,627 bankruptcy rulings in Belgium, an increase of 14.16 percent compared to 2023. A sad record. Records were also broken in the transport sector (+5.48 percent) and garage owners (+12.9 percent). At regional level, Flanders was hit hardest, with 6,674 bankruptcies and 15,553 jobs lost.

Employers’ organization Voka makes no bones about it. “2024 was a very bad year. In terms of restructuring, in terms of production in the crucial industrial sectors, in terms of new investments…,” says chairman Rudy Provoost. He talks about the “toughest crisis for the industry in fifteen years”. “We must absolutely ensure that 2025 is better, the year of the turnaround.” (Read more below the photo)

“No extra charges”

At Voka’s New Year’s reception in the Bozar in Brussels on Monday evening, Provoost looked ahead to how he sees this turnaround. His message has a very clear addressee: the government negotiators. “After seven months of political incapacity, we have had enough. January is undeniably the tipping point for the federal negotiations: it’s make or break, now or never. Now form a federal government that does not shy away from its responsibility and safeguards our welfare state. A decisive government that makes targeted savings and does not place more burdens on entrepreneurship and capital.” Because that’s where the problem comes in, according to Voka. “Today our production companies are too expensive, they sell less and can employ fewer people. We have to get out of that vicious circle.”

For the time being, there appears to be no end in sight to the uncertainty. On February 28, production at Audi Brussels in Aalst will stop, causing approximately 3,000 people to lose their jobs. And in Tupperware Aalst it’s the end of the story on Wednesday. There, 270 people are at risk of losing their jobs.