Volvo Ghent Strike Ends as Workers Accept Supplier Deal

A four-day strike at Plasman, a key supplier of bumpers and spoilers to Volvo Car Gent, has ended after workers voted on a social agreement on Friday. Despite only 45% voting in favor, the strike was called off because the two-thirds threshold required to continue was not met, according to VRT NWS. Production at Belgium’s last remaining car factory can now gradually resume.

Background: A Strike That Shut Down Belgium’s Last Car Factory

The labor dispute began on June 2 at Plasman’s Ghent facility, which specializes in injection molding, painting, and sequential assembly of bumpers for Volvo Car Gent and BMW. The strike erupted after management confirmed that a new order for the Volvo EX30 and an upgrade for the XC40 would not go to the Ghent site. French competitor OP Mobility secured both contracts instead.

Plasman employs approximately 350 people in Ghent, of whom about 130 work directly on Volvo components. Without these essential parts — bumpers and spoilers — Volvo Car Gent was forced to halt its final assembly line, placing roughly 4,000 Volvo workers on temporary economic unemployment (economische werkloosheid), a Belgian system where workers receive benefits when their employer cannot provide work due to economic circumstances.

The Negotiations and Vote

Conciliation talks between unions and Plasman management on June 3, held under the supervision of the Federal Public Service Employment, failed to produce an agreement. By June 4, Volvo had cancelled five shifts, and union representative Marc Staelens of the ABVV socialist union warned that “if it depends on the people at Plasman, the strike could continue for a long time,” as reported by VRT NWS.

Negotiations continued into the night of June 4-5, and by Friday morning, a pre-agreement (voorakkoord) was finalized. Workers were given the opportunity to vote between 10:00 and 14:00. When the results came in, only 45% had voted in favor. However, since the threshold of two-thirds against was not met, the agreement was automatically accepted. Booing was heard at the factory gates as the outcome was announced, according to HLN.

“We met yesterday, after many informal contacts, until midnight,” Staelens said earlier in the day. “This morning we are putting the finishing touches on a pre-agreement. We will present it to the employees between 10 AM and 2 PM.”

Deeper Trouble Beneath the Surface

While the immediate crisis has been resolved, the underlying problems remain significant. Plasman’s Ghent operations are expected to cease entirely in October 2026 due to the loss of key contracts, according to regional broadcaster AVS. The social agreement — the exact terms of which have not been publicly disclosed — likely addresses severance and transition arrangements for the 350 affected workers rather than saving their jobs.

Volvo Car Gent itself faces broader existential uncertainty. In late April, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever established a government taskforce to examine the factory’s future. The challenges are multiple: a new Volvo factory in Slovakia set to open in late 2026 creates European overcapacity; the new SPA3 technology platform would cost an estimated €750 million to €1 billion to retrofit in Ghent; and Volvo’s global sales declined in 2025.

What Happens Next

With the strike resolved, production at Plasman can gradually resume, followed by Volvo Car Gent. The factory, which builds over 1,000 cars per day across five models (XC40, EX30, EX40, EC40, and V60), will need to make up a production backlog of approximately four days. It remains unclear whether this will be achieved through overtime or increased production during quieter periods.

Ghent Mayor Mathias De Clercq (Voor Gent) visited the Volvo factory on Friday, expressing confidence in its future. “It’s good that a solution has been found and work will resume,” De Clercq said. “We have full confidence in the future of the Ghent Volvo factory thanks to all its strengths.”

However, the narrow acceptance of the agreement and the audible discontent among workers underscore deep-seated anxieties about job security in Belgium’s automotive sector. The strike at a single supplier of a critical component — bumpers — was enough to shut down an entire factory employing thousands, highlighting the fragility of modern automotive supply chains. As the government taskforce continues its deliberations, the long-term fate of both Plasman’s Ghent workforce and Volvo Car Gent itself remains uncertain.