German Social Democrats, trade unions and Volkswagen employee representatives have launched a fierce backlash against Audi CEO Gernot Döllner after he joined US President Donald Trump at a Republican campaign rally to announce a multibillion-dollar American factory, a major investment in US manufacturing amid Germany’s deepening automotive crisis.
At Saturday’s rally in Perry, Georgia, ten days before the US midterm elections, Trump unveiled plans for Audi’s first US production plant, a roughly $4 billion investment expected to create 4,500 jobs. Located near Macon, the facility would manufacture up to 200,000 premium SUVs annually, with construction scheduled to begin in 2027 and production in the early 2030s. Döllner briefly appeared on stage and thanked Trump for his support.
The announcement, and particularly Döllner’s appearance alongside Trump, unsurprisingly provoked outrage among German politicians and trade unions. Social Democratic Party (SPD) transport policy spokesperson Isabel Cademartori accused Döllner of campaigning for an ‘autocrat’, describing his appearance as a ‘new low’ for Volkswagen, Audi’s parent company. The choice of words is particularly striking given that Volkswagen itself was founded by the Nazis in 1937 and employed forced labour during the Second World War—a considerably darker chapter in the company’s history.
SPD general secretary Tim Klüssendorf similarly described the episode as a ‘scandal’ and demanded consequences, arguing that Audi was rewarding Trump’s tariffs while the German group was cutting jobs at home.
IG Metall president Christiane Benner called the appearance ‘deeply embarrassing’ and accused Döllner of breaching Audi’s political neutrality rules. Volkswagen works council chief Daniela Cavallo accused Döllner of allowing himself to become a ‘puppet in Trump’s propaganda show’.
CDU MEP Dennis Radtke likewise called the campaign appearance ‘disturbing and pathetic’, while Lower Saxony’s SPD premier Olaf Lies said an election rally was the wrong venue for an investment announcement. Far-left Die Linke politician Luigi Pantisano went further, demanding Döllner’s resignation.
Audi rejected suggestions that the appearance represented a political endorsement. It said executives had travelled to Georgia for negotiations and accepted an invitation to present the project alongside the president solely in the company’s interests. Reuters reported that Audi’s management board had approved an exception to its neutrality rules in advance. The factory still requires approval from Volkswagen’s supervisory board, where labour representatives hold considerable influence.
The investment represents a significant result for Trump’s effort to use tariffs to bring industrial production and jobs back to the United States after decades of offshoring production to lower-wage regions. Audi has no dedicated American manufacturing base, and US import duties cost it approximately €1.2 billion in 2025. The company says its American business is currently unprofitable and that local manufacturing would reduce trade risks and improve competitiveness in the world’s second-largest premium car market.
‘According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the country’s motor vehicle and parts manufacturing sector lost 52,000 jobs in 2025’
Meanwhile, Germany’s once-dominant automotive industry is struggling with declining competitiveness, high energy and labour costs, and the expensive transition to electric vehicles. German carmakers have lost significant market share in China to domestic manufacturers, while weak European demand has left factories operating below capacity. Trump’s tariffs have further compounded these, raising the cost of German car exports to the US, squeezing manufacturers’ profits and accelerating efforts to relocate production to America.
The mounting pressure has forced major manufacturers into sweeping restructuring programmes, with Audi planning to eliminate 7,500 German jobs by 2029 and its Neckarsulm plant facing possible closure after 2030. According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the country’s motor vehicle and parts manufacturing sector lost 52,000 jobs in 2025, underscoring the industrial decline that has made Trump’s efforts to attract automotive investment to the United States particularly consequential.