FRANKFURT, Oct 26 (Reuters) – The CEO of VW’s Audi unit drew heavy criticism on Monday for appearing alongside US President Donald Trump at a rally to announce a $4 billion plant in Georgia, with the head of Germany’s top union saying it violated the automaker’s company guidelines.
The plan, which still requires approval from the supervisory board of parent Volkswagen, comes after years of considerations over a local plant to escape painful US tariffs that have dealt a massive blow to the company.
Audi CEO Gernot Doellner on Saturday appeared alongside Trump at a rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia, to announce the plans to build the assembly plant that will produce 200,000 SUVs annually.
“The way in which Gernot Doellner has presented himself and Audi in the US is deeply embarrassing, politically unacceptable and unworthy of the company,” Christiane Benner said in a statement, adding the appearance had violated Audi’s corporate rules.
Audi’s code of conduct stipulates that no “public engagements with political parties or politicians standing for election, nor any sponsorship of such events” are to take place in the three months leading up to an election.
The US investment also coincides with Volkswagen’s biggest corporate restructuring in history, including massive job cuts as well as potential plant closures at home.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Ludwig Burger)
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