GSK, the British pharmaceutical multinational, is one of the world's largest producers of vaccines and medicines. Its Belgian sites are at the heart of the business: they make more than half of GSK's vaccines and export to around 160 countries.

On 14 October, GSK announced a restructuring plan that would cut 15% of its Belgian workforce, mainly white-collar and highly skilled jobs in Wavre, Rixensart and Gembloux. Trade unions responded immediately with industrial action, organising pickets and blocking site entrances.

Profits for shareholders, cuts for workers

The Belgian cuts are part of a broader cost-cutting strategy. GSK has announced similar restructuring in Germany and Poland and, earlier this year, in the UK.

These cuts are totally unjustifiable given GSK's robust financial position and global success. In 2025, GSK Belgium reported a surplus of almost €2.4bn, while the group paid €5.7bn in dividends to shareholders. The company has also received substantial public support, including tax relief and incentives for research and development. It is unacceptable that workers pay while shareholders cash in.

Consultation, not a formality

GSK has launched the Renault procedure, Belgium's mandatory information and consultation process for collective redundancies. IndustriAll Europe demands meaningful information and consultation in Belgium, in every country affected and at European level. Workers and their representatives must receive the information and the time they need to examine GSK's plan and propose credible alternatives. Consultation must not be a formality for decisions already taken.

Belgian trade unions have already put forward alternatives, including bringing outsourced work back in-house and using the company's strong local research expertise to develop new activities in medicines. Combining research, development and manufacturing in one place has been crucial to GSK's success. IndustriAll Europe urges management to work with the trade unions on viable long-term solutions for the sites and their workers.

Isabelle Barthès, Deputy General Secretary of industriAll Europe, said:

"GSK must stop the bloodbath in Belgium and across Europe. We reject a restructuring strategy that burdens workers while shareholders are raking it in. Workers have created the company's wealth and must not be treated as a cost to be cut to further boost profits. Unless GSK shows willingness to explore every alternative to save jobs, the public support it has received should be paid back."