Employees of the bus manufacturer Van Hool at Koningshooikt, near Lier in Antwerp Province will not be working during the next two weeks. Bankruptcy is a certainty, but what is still unclear is when bankruptcy proceedings will be filed with the Commercial Court. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of companies interested in taken on Van Hool’s staff in the event of redundancies.
On Monday morning, the early shift at Van Hool went to work as normal. However, given the situation at the company it soon became clear that that there was little point in them remaining at work and they returned home.
Meanwhile, the employers’ federation Voka says that numerous companies from all over Flanders have said that they are interested in taking on staff from Van Hool if they lose their jobs. This was reported by the Flemish employers' organisation Voka Mechelen.
Around 250 companies have expressed an interest in taking on skilled workers from Van Hool.