Key facts
- Audi CEO Gernot Doellner appeared at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Georgia.
- Trump announced Audi plans to invest $4 billion in a new US assembly plant.
- The plant is expected to produce 200,000 SUVs annually.
- IG Metall chief Christiane Benner called Doellner's appearance "deeply embarrassing" and "politically unacceptable."
- Benner stated the appearance violated Audi's corporate rules.
The head of Germany's largest trade union, IG Metall, and deputy chair of Volkswagen's supervisory board, Christiane Benner, criticized Audi CEO Gernot Doellner for appearing at a campaign event for US President Donald Trump. Doellner appeared alongside Trump at a rally in Perry, Georgia, where Trump announced that Audi, part of Volkswagen Group, plans to invest $4 billion in a new assembly plant. The plant is expected to produce 200,000 SUVs annually and create approximately 4,500 jobs. Benner stated that Doellner's appearance was "deeply embarrassing, politically unacceptable and unworthy of the company," adding that it violated Audi's corporate rules. The WorldAttention report noted that the plan still requires approval from the Volkswagen supervisory board and that construction is planned for 2027 with production in the early 2030s.