Audi plans to build a $4 billion Georgia assembly plant that would produce 200,000 SUVs annually, pending approval from Volkswagen's supervisory board. IG Metall head Christiane Benner called CEO Gernot Doellner's appearance with President Donald Trump at the rally “deeply embarrassing” and said it violated Audi's corporate rules.
Audi CEO Gernot Doellner appeared alongside President Donald Trump at a rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday to announce plans for a $4 billion assembly plant. The facility is planned to produce 200,000 SUVs annually, but the proposal still requires approval from the supervisory board of parent Volkswagen.
Christiane Benner, head of Germany's IG Metall union, called Doellner's appearance “deeply embarrassing, politically unacceptable and unworthy of the company” and said it violated Audi's corporate rules. Audi's code of conduct bars public engagements with political parties or politicians standing for election, and sponsorship of such events, in the three months before an election.
The US investment plan comes as Volkswagen undertakes its biggest corporate restructuring in history, including massive job cuts and potential plant closures in Germany. The company has considered a local US plant for years to avoid tariffs that have dealt it a major blow.
