Automotive News Europe — 2022-12-22
Automotive Industry
Volkswagen plans to reduce the number of shifts at its Wolfsburg factory in January 2023.
A VW spokesman said the work stoppage would affect the late shift in Golf production for assembly line 3 and other adjacent areas from 9 through 27 January.
The body shop, paint shop and other adjacent areas will be affected on a pro-rata basis, he said, while the holding areas and maintenance necessary to supply the plant are excluded from the measure.
The reasons for the stoppages are the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted supply chains, Business Insider magazine reported on Thursday, citing internal communications with employees.
Earlier in December, VW brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in plant is building well under 400,000 cars a year, less than half its capacity, because of "flat-out chaos" in the supply chain.
The plant employs about 60,000 workers building combustion engine models including the Golf, Tiguan and Touran.
VW is adding production of two full-electric models at the factory - the ID3 compact hatchback and a Tiguan-sized EV.