Audi says European production will restart gradually

Audi says it will gradually restart production at its plants in Europe during the coming weeks.

In mid-March, the company temporarily suspended production at its European sites due to supply bottlenecks and a drop in demand due to the COVD-19 pandemic.

The restart in the global Audi production network together with suppliers and service providers will be coordinated with the Volkswagen Group. The main component of the restart is a comprehensive package that focuses on the safety of employees.

“We will manage the restart as a joint European act,” says management board member for production Peter Kössler. “This is because supply chains and production and logistics processes are closely interlinked within the Group and with partners at the international level.”

“The restart will be accompanied by a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that the employees’ health is protected,” says works council chairman Peter Mosch

“This includes clear rules on distance and hygiene, a modified shift system to avoid contact, and the obligation to use mouth and nose protection in areas where distances of 1.5 metres are not possible,” Mosch says.

The company has also created physical barriers at critical workplaces. In door pre-assembly, for example, two employees work simultaneously on the same transport rack and stand directly opposite each other. Here, the employees themselves have developed a transparent barrier made of plastic sheeting.

Managers of production sections and groups, together with experts from occupational safety, health care, industrial engineering and the works council, have looked at each individual workplace, analysed it and developed suggestions for improvement. Only with the agreement of all those involved is a workplace considered “corona-ready.”

The workgroup also took a close look at the working environment: group spaces, factory gates, parking spaces and internal factory traffic, as well as catering and factory restaurants. Audi has developed appropriate solutions for all areas.

Comprehensive safety precautions and modified work regulations also apply at office workplaces.

Vehicle production at the Audi sites will be gradually ramped up from the end of April onwards according to a fixed plan. Engine production in Győr already started gradually ramping up again this week. For those employees at the factories in Germany who will only be able to resume their work fully in later phases of the restart, short-time working regulations will continue to apply until then.