Thousands of workers brought chaos to Brussels on Monday, setting off firecrackers and blocking streets near the European Parliament, in a demonstration to show solidarity with employees from an Audi car factory facing possible closure.

Audi workers in Brussels protest against potential layoffs at the Forest plant. The threat of job cuts has ignited widespread fear and uncertainty among the workforce.

The strikes in Brussels are part of a growing international movement of autoworkers in defence of their jobs and wages, which are under attack on all fronts. At a factory meeting at the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg on the same day, tens of thousands of workers protested against the company’s austerity drive and planned job cuts.