Audi chief Gernot Doeller drew heavy criticism on Monday for appearing alongside US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Georgia, with the head of Germany's top union saying it violated the automaker's company guidelines.
Doellner appeared alongside Trump at the rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia, to announce plans to build a $4 billion plant, the luxury carmaker's first in the US, which would produce 200,000 SUVs annually.
The head of a major trade union accused him of breaking the company's code of conduct with the appearance. The investment must be put to the supervisory board of parent Volkswagen, including German labour representatives.
TOP VW COMMITTEE MUST DECIDE ON US PLANT
A decision to go ahead with the investment would come after lengthy considerations over a US plant to escape import tariffs that cost Audi around €1.2 billion last year.
"Doellner is also in flagrant breach of his own company's rules, which expressly require political neutrality in the run-up to elections," said Christiane Benner, head of Germany's IG Metall union and deputy chair of the Volkswagen supervisory board.
Benner stressed that any decision on the investment must ultimately be taken by the top supervisory committee, which is already fraught with tension over Volkswagen's sweeping restructuring.
Trump has voiced his support in the past for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, making him a controversial ally for Germany's political and corporate mainstream.
TRUMP KEEN TO PROMOTE IMPACT OF TARIFFS
German automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer referred to Doellner as a "mini Elon Musk", comparing him to the Tesla boss who has appeared on stage with Trump.
Audi's code of conduct stipulates that no "public engagements with political parties or politicians standing for election, nor any sponsorship of such events" are to take place in the three months leading up to an election.
Trump is eager to make the case that his auto tariffs are helping the US economy ahead of the midterms.
The US investment plan coincides with Volkswagen's push to cut 100,000 jobs and slash excess production as it grapples with heavy losses in China while absorbing steep tariffs and the costly transition to EVs.
The group's German production sites have been under particular pressure to reduce costs, with Audi's factory in Neckarsulm one of four plants threatened with closure from early next decade.
"The optics are not great; jobs are being created in the US while Audi is reducing the capacity globally," Metzler analysts said of the US plan. "Still, we would argue the decision to produce in the US is right."