GSK to Cut Up to 1,217 Jobs at Belgian Vaccine Sites

British pharmaceutical giant GSK announced on Wednesday its intention to cut up to 1,217 jobs in Belgium, putting one of Wallonia’s largest private employers at the centre of the country’s biggest collective-redundancy plan this year. The restructuring was unveiled at an extraordinary works council at the company’s Wavre site and affects staff at its three Belgian vaccine operations in Wavre, Rixensart and Gembloux.

According to VRT NWS, the cuts target 482 white-collar employee positions and 735 management (cadre) roles, all on permanent, open-ended contracts. Blue-collar workers are spared in this round, though they had already been hit by earlier reductions. The company employs roughly 8,500 people across the three Belgian sites.

What the Company Says

GSK framed the decision as part of a broader global restructuring. RTL Info reported that the company said the move falls “within the framework of a global programme announced in July 2026 aimed at reallocating resources toward its most promising candidate medicines and vaccines, while simplifying its organisation.”

The affected legal entity is GSK Biologicals, which handles vaccine production and research and development. GSK Pharmaceuticals, the group’s commercial division in Belgium, is not affected. The company said the job losses would materialise by 2028 and that it intends to “conduct this social dialogue with seriousness, respect and transparency, in close consultation with staff representatives.”

GSK also cited a drop in vaccine production volumes and increased competition in certain markets. It insists it will remain Belgium’s largest pharmaceutical employer and that its Belgian operations retain a key role within the group.

The restructuring falls under Belgium’s so-called “law-Renault” on collective dismissals, which obliges the company to inform and consult worker representatives. A first meeting with management to set the consultation calendar is expected on Friday, 16 October.

Union Anger

The announcement stunned union delegates. L’Avenir reported that Élodie Mascolo, principal delegate of the Christian CNE union, said she “fell from a great height” despite expecting bad news. “We are in a company that is flourishing. When you see the figures of the GSK group, what is happening is indecent,” she said, adding that the unions are “in for several weeks, even several months of union battle.”

Jamal Amraoui, principal delegate of the socialist FGTB, said workers had been told of a “social bloodbath.” He questioned the scale of the cuts, arguing that shedding 1,217 workers from a company of roughly 8,300 to 8,400 is “enormous — far too much.” He acknowledged that the question of an eventual full closure of Belgian operations is now on the table.

Mascolo warned of a gradual GSK disengagement from Belgium, particularly toward the United States, and stressed that the Belgian sites had repeatedly absorbed production from other struggling group plants. “The expertise is here,” she said.

Political Fallout

Federal Employment Minister David Clarinval said his “first thought” was with the GSK workers and their families and urged the company to explore all options to limit the losses, including internal mobility, training and redeployment. “It is urgent to take measures on health or taxation if we want to save the Belgian Pharma Valley,” he said, referring to the country’s pharmaceutical cluster, which represents 45,000 direct jobs.

Walloon Minister-President Adrien Dolimont and Walloon Employment Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet said in a joint statement that “behind the figures and beyond the economic impact lies a human drama affecting more than a thousand families,” and committed to engaging with both unions and management.

Opposition parties reacted sharply. In an RTL Info round-up of political reactions, federal MP Sofie Merckx of the radical-left PTB called the move a “double injustice,” pointing to shareholder payouts and public support for the company. She called for the repayment of public subsidies in the event of collective redundancies; the PTB cites union figures showing GSK received at least €481 million in public aid and tax advantages in 2025 alone. Gilles Vanden Burre, co-president of the green party Ecolo, urged the federal and Walloon governments to summon GSK management to “limit as much as possible” the restructuring, noting that aid conditionality gives governments leverage.

The Bigger Picture

Even before the job losses are finalised, the announcement carries symbolic weight. Belgian news agency Belga, drawing on federal employment figures, identified it as the largest collective-redundancy intention announced this year, ahead of earlier 2026 cases including Nike in Laakdal (736 jobs), UPS Belgium in Machelen (525) and H&M Logistics in Mons (440). It is the largest dossier since retailer Cora announced 1,777 job losses in April 2025, though it remains well short of the landmark Ford Genk closure of 2012, when 4,264 jobs were cut.

What to Watch

The consultation now moves into the information and consultation phase prescribed by the law-Renault. Unions have said they will push management to examine alternative measures, and staff assemblies were scheduled at Wavre and Rixensart. The first management meeting to establish the timetable is set for Friday.

Whether GSK’s Walloon vaccine hub — described as the historic centre of the group’s vaccines division and the largest industrial vaccine network in the world — can absorb cuts of this scale without eroding its role in the group is the central question. For now, the company says Belgium remains a key base; the unions say they fear the opposite.