Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) is to gradually restart production at its plants in Hannover, Germany and in Poland at Poznan and Wrzesnia from 27 April.
Following a shutdown of what will have been five weeks due to the coronavirus, the brand says it will base the return to production on the availability of parts, conditions set out by the German government and the European Union and the state of play in its sales markets.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Volkswagen has drawn up a 100-point plan designed to enable production to resume while fully protecting workers’ health. All measures also apply to outside companies and suppliers working on the factory sites, the manufacturer said.
Josef Baumert, board of management member for Production and Logistics at VWCV, said:
“Protecting our employees’ health has absolute priority in this process. We have developed a comprehensive package of measures for this and are already working intensively in small teams on preparing the plants, in order, for example, to be able to maintain appropriate distances, to implement higher hygiene standards and, where necessary, to provide protective equipment.”
Bertina Murkovic, chair of the VWCV Works Council, added: “It is a good signal for the economy and the public if we are able to show a way forward out of the shutdown.
“For us as the Works Council too the health of our colleagues is the core focus. We will therefore be watching the entire development in connection with Covid-19 extremely closely.
“With the factory agreement endorsed by the entire Works Council we have created a good framework for the resumption of production in Hannover, reconciling economic interests and the protection of the workforce.”
