Audi CEO Gernot Doellner faced significant criticism for appearing alongside U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Georgia, an act deemed a violation of the automaker’s company guidelines by the head of Germany’s top union.
Doellner attended the rally in Perry, Georgia, where Trump announced plans for a new Audi plant. The proposed $4 billion facility would be the luxury carmaker’s first in the U.S. and is projected to produce 200,000 SUVs annually.
Christiane Benner, head of Germany’s IG Metall union and deputy chair of the Volkswagen supervisory board, stated that Doellner had breached the company’s code of conduct, which explicitly requires political neutrality in the three months leading up to an election. According to Audi's code, public engagements with political parties or candidates are prohibited during this period.
The investment decision for the U.S. plant requires approval from the supervisory board of Audi's parent company, Volkswagen. This committee includes German labor representatives, and the potential investment is already a point of tension amid Volkswagen's broader restructuring efforts.
Audi has been considering a U.S. plant to mitigate the impact of import tariffs, which reportedly cost the company around 1.2 billion euros last year. The investment plan coincides with Volkswagen's global restructuring, which involves cutting 100,000 jobs and reducing excess production, particularly as the company faces losses in China and the costly transition to electric vehicles.
Analysts noted that the optics of creating jobs in the U.S. while Audi reduces global capacity could be challenging. However, they also suggested that the decision to produce in the U.S. is strategically sound. Trump has sought to highlight the economic impact of his auto tariffs in the lead-up to mid-term elections.