Audi, the luxury-car arm of Volkswagen, plans to build a new factory in Georgia, USA, with an investment of $4.2 billion, or about 91 billion Czech koruna. The company said the plant will create about 4,500 jobs and have annual capacity of up to 200,000 vehicles.
Trump claims tariff credit
US President Donald Trump announced the investment and credited his tariff policy for it. “Without tariffs, they would not have come here,” he said. At a pre-election rally in Georgia, Trump also called it “the largest single investment in the history of the US automotive industry, in its modern history.” Audi, in a press release, said “the US offers Audi considerable growth potential.” Critics cited by Reuters say Trump’s tariffs have instead raised US car prices and created uncertainty for manufacturers.
Volkswagen cuts jobs elsewhere
The investment comes as Volkswagen pursues deep cuts elsewhere in the group. The company plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide by the end of the decade. Volkswagen’s supervisory board approved the restructuring plan last month, describing it as the largest in the company’s history. The group employed 663,000 people at the end of the previous year.
According to the KOVO union, Volkswagen is also seeking a wage freeze at Škoda Auto until 2030, which the unions reject. Škoda Auto employs 36,500 people across its three Czech plants, including agency workers, in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. Škoda Auto has repeatedly said the new group plan has no direct impact on its own activities.
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