Cora Closure Marks One of Belgium’s Largest Layoffs in 15 Years, Putting 1,779 Jobs at Risk

The planned closure of Cora supermarkets in Belgium has been officially ranked as the seventh-largest collective redundancy since 2010, according to the Belgian Ministry of Employment. The announcement, made on Tuesday, signals the potential loss of 1,779 jobs by early 2026, placing it among the most significant employment shocks in the country in over a decade.
At the top of the list remains the 2012 Ford Genk plant shutdown, which resulted in 4,264 job losses. Other major layoffs include Carrefour’s 2010 hypermarket restructuring (3,363 jobs), Audi Brussels’ 2024 closure (2,920 jobs), Opel Antwerp’s 2010 shutdown (2,612 jobs), Delhaize’s 2014 transformation (2,500 jobs), and Caterpillar-Solar Gosselies’ 2016 closure (2,101 jobs).
Cora now joins a sobering list of 14 mass layoff announcements made since 2010, each involving over 1,000 jobs. Caterpillar appears twice in the rankings—also announcing 1,400 job cuts in 2013. Meanwhile, Carrefour has featured three times, highlighting its turbulent history with workforce reductions in 2010 and again in 2018.
While the announcement of a collective layoff marks a severe moment for workers, it is also the beginning of a legally mandated negotiation process between management and labor unions. These talks aim to explore alternatives that could mitigate the impact, such as internal reassignments, early retirements, or support packages.
For the nearly 1,800 employees of Cora, the road ahead remains uncertain—but efforts are underway to reduce the damage and explore every possible avenue to save jobs where possible.