The Adient group, which has a factory in Assenede (East Flanders) will supply car seats to the Ghent branch of Volvo Cars, the local management of the car seat specialist told Belga on Friday. This is a major order for the new electric EX30 model and will result in around 100 new staff members.
Adient's Belgian plant currently employs around 600 people. 100 extra workers will be recruited to honour the new contract.
These will be permanent contracts, but also temporary contracts, so that the service can be adapted according to the manufacturer's order book.
"This is excellent news for us," said a delighted manager. "It means that jobs will be secured for years to come."
Adient already supplies vehicle seats to Volvo, including for the X40, EC40 and XC40 models. In 2018, the Assenede plant had to stop the overnight service due to uncertainties about the future of deliveries to Volvo's Ghent plant. But this new contract is a positive signal for the years to come.
The news comes after a year of mass layoffs and complications in the European car manufacturer sector.
