Volkswagen is to extend the production suspension at its German plants for a further four days until April 9. The suspension includes its assembly and component making plants. Volkswagen said it is responding to the 'fall in demand on the automobile market and the challenges faced by the supply chain' but hopes to start making vehicles again 'soon'.
In a statement, VW said an application for an extension of short-time working for a total of 80,000 employees of Volkswagen AG has been submitted. It is planned to end short-time working with the night shift of April 9 to 10. The plants affected are Dresden, Emden, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg and Zwickau as well as the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles plant in Hanover, the plants of Volkswagen Group Components at Brunswick, Kassel, Salzgitter, Chemnitz and Hanover and the German plants of SITECH.
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At the same time, VW said it is 'preparing intensively for the resumption of production'.
Andreas Tostmann, Member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management responsible for Production and Logistics, said: "The health of our employees has the highest priority. We will ensure that they can return to safe workplaces when production and logistics activities are resumed. In our task force, we are working on a comprehensive package of measures.
"In this context, we are also incorporating our experience in China where almost all our plants have now resumed production and the market seems to be gradually returning to normal. To date, there has not been a single case of corona among our employees in China."
