Audi CEO Gernot Doellner’s appearance at a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump, where the construction of a factory in Georgia was announced, has set off a wave of criticism in Germany from the media, unions and politicians. The daily Handelsblatt called Doellner “Trump’s campaign helper.”
On Saturday, Trump announced the construction of an Audi plant in Perry, Georgia. Doellner then walked onto the stage and thanked the U.S. president for his support, which the crowd received enthusiastically. Trump called Doellner a “good-looking guy from Germany.”
According to Handelsblatt, Doellner crossed a line and allowed himself to be demoted to the role of Trump’s “campaign helper.” The paper noted that the Audi chief stepped up to the podium “after three-quarters of an hour of a speech full of hatred, racism, misogyny and an enraged crowd.”
The paper judged that, with polls favoring the Democrats, Trump is “grasping at any straw to turn the tide, and the Audi chief is joining in the game.” “Unworthy theater,” it added.
Handelsblatt recalled that “since the U.S. president introduced tariffs last year, Audi and its parent company Volkswagen have been losing billions.” It also stressed that “helping the election campaign of a racist and evidently corrupt U.S. president, who attacks Europe and courts dictators, carries a completely different weight.” For Handelsblatt, it was “crossing a line.”
The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that, for the sake of business, the Audi chief “would even go on stage with Trump.” “It is hard to imagine a more submissive approach (by Doellner),” it said.
The German government distanced itself from the matter. “This is a business decision about where the company invests and, in this case, also where its CEO appears. I have nothing more to add,” said deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille, as quoted by Reuters.
Olaf Lies, the premier of Lower Saxony, the state that is a shareholder in Volkswagen, spoke more sharply. In his view, a campaign rally cannot be the proper place to announce an investment of this scale, and decisions of such value are made by the company’s appropriate bodies, and no such decision has yet been made. According to Lies, “a member of the company’s management became part of a political spectacle, which caused consternation not only among employees fearing for their jobs, but also far more broadly.”
Doellner’s appearance was also criticized by Christiane Benner, head of the IG Metall labor union, which represents workers at, among others, automotive companies. Quoted by the dpa news agency, she called it politically unacceptable. “The way Doellner presented himself and Audi in the United States was also embarrassing and unworthy of the women and men who work at Audi,” Benner said on Monday.
A wave of criticism also came from within the ranks of Audi’s parent company, Volkswagen. Works council chair Daniela Cavallo said that “anyone who heard Trump’s speech and had to see that Doellner became an active part of the event should sink into the ground with shame.”
In Cavallo’s assessment, there was a clear violation of Audi’s internal guidelines, which prohibit public appearances with candidates in the last three months before elections. She added that Doellner signed those rules a few months ago.
Meanwhile, auto industry expert Frank Schwope of the Fachhochschule des Mittelstands in Berlin told the daily Bild that building a plant in the U.S. threatens jobs in Germany, including in Neckarsulm.
The German auto industry has been in crisis for years, and employment in it has fallen to its lowest level in more than 20 years. Carmakers and suppliers are announcing further job cuts, driven by weak economic conditions, the costly transition to electric drive, Chinese competition and U.S. tariffs.
The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) estimates that 225,000 jobs could disappear by 2035.
Audi has announced an investment worth $4 billion. The new plant is to produce 200,000 SUVs a year and employ 4,500 people. Construction is to begin in 2027, with production starting in the early 2030s. It would be Audi’s first plant in the United States.
The midterm elections will be held in the U.S. on Nov. 3.
From Munich, Iwona Weidmann (PAP)
