BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen’s supervisory board is assembling on Friday to discuss reshuffling its production network and make a call on whether to build a proposed new factory for its Trinity electric sedan, a source close to the company said.
A plan to build a new plant for the Trinity model near the company’s Wolfsburg headquarters was conceived under former Chief Executive Herbert Diess, but was called into question at the end of last year.
Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in December the carmaker would decide by early February whether to build the factory or simply produce the new electric sedan at its main Wolfsburg plant, which will have additional capacity by the time production of the model is slated to begin.
The board will also discuss which new models could be produced at Volkswagen’s Hannover plant after production of the VW Bus 6.1 comes to an end, and its Osnabrueck plant, which could be assigned a new Porsche model, Handelsblatt reported.
Employees fear 1,000 jobs could be at risk in Hannover if the plant is not allocated a new model, the paper said, citing sources close to the workforce. The works council declined to comment.
The supervisory board will meet again in early March to conclude the plans and prepare to present them on March 14 at the carmaker’s annual results conference, the source said.
The planning round, first reported by German business paper Handelsblatt, is the first since Volkswagen and Porsche Chief Executive Oliver Blume took over the company last autumn and postponed the meeting from its original planned date in November.
The CEO has swept through the carmaker’s strategic plans since taking over to streamline its operations, a marked contrast from his predecessor Herbert Diess, known for developing elaborate vision but criticised by some, including the works council, for lacking clear execution.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Miranda Murray and Jan Harvey)
