In the first nine months of this year, 8,878 individuals were affected by collective redundancy announcements, known as the Renault procedure, according to new figures from the federal employment administration.
This marks a record since the administration began tracking quarterly statistics in 2011.
The second-highest number was recorded a decade ago, with 8,651 collective redundancies announced from January to September.
Last year, 5,315 workers were impacted by collective redundancy announcements during the same period.
This year, several large companies, including car manufacturer Audi (2,920), chocolate producer Barry Callebaut (479), and nappy producer Ontex (489), have announced significant layoffs.
However, not all procedures have been finalised, and the actual number of collective redundancies may differ from initial intentions.
For example, Van Hool went bankrupt, and the announced collective redundancy of 1,100 jobs at the bus builder did not materialise, even if more than 2,500 people lost their jobs due to the bankruptcy.
