Faced with the growing controversy in Germany, the boss of Audi assures that the decision to participate in Donald Trump's meeting "was taken in the interest of the company"
Gernot Döllner's appearance on October 24 at a Donald Trump rally in the state of Georgia sparked controversy. Faced with the criticism which has multiplied in recent hours, the boss of Audi justifies himself.
It took an appearance alongside Donald Trump for the Audi CEO to trigger a wave of criticism in Germany. A few days before the mid-term elections which crystallize numerous tensions in the United States, Gernot Döllner wanted to justify his participation in the meeting of the American president. In a letter addressed to employees and consulted by Bloomberg, the CEO of the automobile brand said he was aware "that the announcement was perceived as the expression of a political position", while specifying that the decision to appear "was taken solely in the interest of the company".
Officially, Gernot Döllner's presence in the United States comes as part of discussions for the construction of a factory in the state of Georgia. An investment worth $4 billion that the CEO wanted to formalize during this meeting, specifying that parent company Volkswagen AG had been asked to announce the green light for the installation. Critics from all sides It did not take long before the president of the powerful German union IG Metall, Christiane Benner, criticized this participation in an election rally.
“The way Gernot Döllner presented himself and Audi in the United States is extremely embarrassing, politically unacceptable,” she said in a statement. Internally, disagreements are increasing since the president of the works council of the Volkswagen group, Daniela Cavallo, denounced a "clear violation" of internal directives, which impose political neutrality and prohibit public events with candidates in the three months preceding an election. Political staff also took up the matter shortly after.
As early as Sunday, SPD MP Isabel Cademartori denounced on X "direct electoral aid" provided to Donald Trump, believing that Volkswagen had "learned nothing from history". On the side of the CDU, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, MEP Dennis Radtke described this choice of Döllner as "troubling and pitiful" while Donald Trump remains, according to him, a politician who "massively harms German industry, including the automobile industry".
Machine-translated from French
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- BFM Business27 Oct, 12:07
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