800 Alstom jobs at risk after SNCB chooses Spanish train constructor

Almost 800 people may lose their jobs at Alstom’s Bruges site, following national rail operator SNCB’s decision to work instead with Spanish train manufacturer CAF, the ACV-CSC Metea trade union has warned.

Alstom Benelux was in the running for what has been dubbed “the contract of the century” to build several hundred AM30 train units used to operate suburban S and Intercity IC services for up to 170,000 passengers.

Work could last 12 years, but the Belgian subsidiary of the French group was ultimately not selected, even though it had submitted the lowest cost offer.

Alstom’s current orders only guarantee job security in Bruges until April 2026, the union said, noting that Belgium lags behind when it comes to bidding for contracts in the country.

Several suppliers in the region are also likely to be affected. Alstom also possesses a "centre of excellence" in Charleroi, specialising in research and development.

CAF is said to be asking for €3.4 billion as part of the tender, according to a report in Trends-Tendance magazine.

“After Stib, TEC and De Lijn, this is an unprecedented breakthrough that the SNCB is choosing the Spanish manufacturer,” the report added.

The SNCB argued that, in law, employment is not one of the selection criteria for the public contract. Alstom Benelux employs 480 people at its Bruges plant, which builds train sets, and more than 1,000 at its Charleroi site.

According to the FGTB Métal Hainaut-Namur and Setca Charleroi Métropole trade unions, failure to secure this contract could jeopardise the operations at these sites. They say that the SNCB contract could have offered job security for workers.

With the idea that the decision is not final, they are demanding immediate guarantees, including complete transparency on that criteria used by SNCB and the government, when awarding the contract.

Belgium’s federal mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke said appeals against the procedure’s legality were still possible as the contract had not yet been formally awarded.

Crucke also noted that the SNCB board of directors’ decision to select CAF was unanimous.

Adressing political criticism, including from Charleroi’s mayor, Thomas Dermine, who said the news would have a very bad impact on the local economy, he said that it was the previous government, led by Alexander De Croo, that had started the process.

Photo: Virginie Lefour/Belga